Ginebra vows to go full blast in QF

Barangay Ginebra’s quest for the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) title got a major boost when it beat Rain or Shine to claim a twice-to-beat edge in the quarterfinals of the Philippine Cup late Sunday at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City.

But getting past the quarterfinals is the last thing on Tim Cone’s mind — at least for now.

The league’s most successful head coach said they will take it one game at a time and start with beating Converge in the quarterfinals of the season-ending conference.

The Kings, who closed the elimination round with a three-game winning streak capped by a 90-88 win over the Elasto Painters, will enter the quarterfinals as heavy favorites after beating the FiberXers convincingly, 85-66, in an out-of-town encounter on 10 May in Pampanga.

“We’re just gonna prepare ourselves and try to go out and win just one game,” said American tactician, whose wards grabbed the No. 4 seed after finishing the eliminations with an 8-3 record behind San Miguel Beer, NLEX and Magnolia.

“Really, we’re just thinking about one game, not twice-to-beat. We’re just thinking about one game.”

To make sure that they will be in full force in the playoffs, the Kings activated LA Tenorio and kept the impressive Jayson David in the active roster. But to make it happen, they had to place Von Pessumal in the unrestricted free agent list.

Tenorio, who became a free agent on 29 April to handle the Gilas Pilipinas Youth squad in the FIBA Asia Cup U16 SEABA Qualifiers, is expected to provide veteran leadership while David has been making a lot of heads turn with a couple of explosive performances in their recent matches.

But against the Elasto Painters, the Kings proved that they are more than ready for the playoffs.

Stephen Holt stepped up while Japeth Aguilar and Jamie Malonzo churned in impressive numbers to underscore the depth and superiority of the Kings.

Holt, the top overall pick in the 2023 draft, delivered 27 points and 12 rebounds while sparking a sizzling 15-0 rally in the fourth period that greatly demoralized the Elasto Painters.

On the other hand, Aguilar and Malonzo posted double-double performances of 18 points and 10 rebounds and 15 points and 10 rebounds, respectively, to seal the victory.

Holt said their three-game winning run is their response to the devastating 73-82 setback to rival Meralco on 31 May.

“I just felt like we handled that loss to Meralco beautifully. I mean it doesn’t matter how, when things aren’t going well, it’s how you respond to adversity,” Holt said.

“So, we watched that film, talked about it in practice, and that kinda spring-boarded us to winning these three games in a row.”

Quarterfinal action between the Kings and the FiberXers is set on 20 June at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.