Yuletide win boosts Kings confidence

Barangay Ginebra tries to ride the crest of its spirited win before the holiday break as it springs back into action in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner’s Cup on Sunday.

Pitted against defending champion San Miguel Beer at the Smart Araneta Coliseum to start the new year, Kings head coach Tim Cone felt relieved his squad was able to build confidence in a come-from-behind win over Magnolia.

Scottie Thompson drained the game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer in Ginebra’s 95-92 Christmas Day nail-biter of a victory.

Cone felt the daring Manila Clasico escape where the Kings came back from 22 points down in the third period somehow eased the pressure off their backs. Ginebra recovered from a shocking setback at the hands of streaking Converge in the previous outing.

“It takes a little bit of pressure off us because we remain towards the group on top. Because if we lost, we would’ve dropped down to the middle or the bottom. So, it takes the pressure off us,” Cone said.

The Kings currently, occupy the fifth spot with a 4-2 win-loss record above the Beermen, who sports an even 3-3 mark.

“It’s really hard to come into a game in a ‘must win, must win, must win.’ It puts a lot of pressure on you,” Cone added.

The decorated tactician sees the game against San Miguel as an opportunity to start a strong run to secure a seat in the playoffs.

But it’s easier said than done.

“Coming off the break, we’ve got San Miguel. So, it doesn’t get any easier,” Cone said.

Still, Cone is clinging to their win over the struggling Hotshots to fuel the Kings’ drive.

“We need to come into (the game against) San Miguel feeling confident and comfortable with our game. If we do that, we should perform pretty well against them,” he said.

“But if we come having to win a must-win it’s really tough against a team like San Miguel.”

The Beermen are coming off a sorry 91-99 overtime loss against Eastern last 22 December, spoiling the debut of San Miguel’s third import Jabari Narcis.