Cone wary of Rain or Shine’s resilience

The last time Barangay Ginebra faced Rain or Shine in the playoffs was six years ago with the Kings eventually winning the crown.

In their first meeting in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup, Ginebra blew out the Elasto Painters.

It may look like a psychological advantage for the Kings on paper when they meet in the best-of-seven semifinals, but head coach Tim Cone knows too well that past results won’t matter when taking on a Yeng Guiao-mentored team.

“Except for looking at a game like that and deciding adjustments and stuff, you don’t put too much salt in that game. You just kind of let it go,” Cone said about Ginebra’s 114-90 elimination round win over Rain or Shine.

“We know the kind of team that they present. So that’s what we’re going to get ready for, not our last game.”

The Kings advanced to the semis after blowing out Phoenix, 112-81, in the quarterfinal where they didn’t need to use their twice-to-beat advantage last Friday at the Ynares Center-Antipolo.

Ginebra set up a postseason showdown against the Elasto Painters for the first time since the pandemic bubble-set up Philippine Cup quarterfinal back in 2020.

Rain or Shine was coached by Caloy Garcia during the two teams’ last playoffs pairing.

The Elasto Painters booked a return ticket to the Final Four following a quarterfinal exit last conference after eliminating San Miguel Beer 113-104, also Friday.

This will be Cone’s first chess match against Guiao since the King’s booted out the then Guiao-handled NLEX in the 2021 Governors’ Cup semis.

“There’s a lot of playoffs through the years, so I hardly remember that one,” Cone said of the last time Ginebra took on Rain or Shine.

“I just know how hard it is to go up against Yeng Guiao and his teams. They play the game extremely hard, they play the game extremely fast, and they compete all the time, all the time,” he added.

Cone braces for a tough series on Wednesday as the Elasto Painters are determined to end a decade-long title drought.

“They can wear you down in a seven-game series because of their defense and who they go to. So, there’s a lot of concern going in against a team like that,” the 25-time champion coach said.

“Coach Yeng is so experienced in all these things, and sometimes I feel like maybe I have a little bit of an edge on that most of the time. But with Coach Yeng, no. We came into the league at the same time. We’ve been coaching for about the same number of years. He’s been through it all, and so I expect it to be a really, really tough series,” Cone added.

“Like I said, they can really wear you down over seven games.”