Ginebra 50-50

The Philippine Basketball Association’s (PBA) 50th season is nearing its end.

But is Barangay Ginebra’s all-time league record streak of 50 straight conferences of advancing past the eliminations also about to come to an end?

Heading into the final two weeks of the Season 50 Governors’ Cup eliminations, the Kings are near the bottom of Group B with a 3-5 win-loss record and only two games left in their schedule — against Phoenix this Sunday and Blackwater two Fridays from now, both in Antipolo.

Only four of the six teams in Group B — Magnolia, Rain or Shine, Phoenix, Blackwater, Meralco and Ginebra — will advance to the quarterfinals.

Through yesterday’s games, Magnolia was already assured of a playoff berth with its 6-3 record. The Elasto Painters and Fuel Masters tote identical 4-3 slates, while the Bolts are at 4-5. The Kings share the same 3-5 record as the Bossing.

The battle for the final three quarterfinal slots in Group B is expected to go down to the wire.

The quarterfinal cast in Group A is already settled, with NLEX, San Miguel Beer, Converge and defending champion TNT Tropang 5G assured of playoff berths. Terrafirma, Titan Ultra and guest team Macau, meanwhile, are headed for an early Christmas vacation.

Barangay Ginebra seems a different team without resident import Justin Brownlee, who has yet to suit up this conference, reportedly due to health and personal issues. Brownlee has been primarily responsible for leading the crowd favorites to the last four Governors’ Cup Finals and five of the last six, winning the title four times.

The Kings have paraded Riley Grigsby and Jordan Murphy without much success so far. They are also the only team in Group B yet to win back-to-back games this conference, and one of only three in the entire tournament, along with Titan Ultra and Terrafirma in Group A.

Is Ginebra’s coaching staff suffering from some sort of mental burnout?

Ginebra coach Tim Cone and chief deputy Richard del Rosario have been alternating their coaching duties between the Kings and Gilas Pilipinas over the last couple of months, covering the FIBA World Cup Qualifiers and the recent Nagoya Asian Games.

Ginebra has made the conference playoffs in each of the last 20 seasons. The Kings last missed the playoffs in the 2005 Fiesta Conference, when the defending champions were swept by Red Bull in the best-of-three wildcard phase of the eliminations.

That was also the last time a defending champion of any conference failed to advance past the elimination round.

Cone’s own all-time league record streak of 42 straight conferences reaching the playoffs is likewise in peril. The last time his team failed to advance was in the 2009 Fiesta Conference, when Alaska was bundled out by Burger King in the wildcard phase.

For the last 16 seasons, Cone has led Alaska, B-Meg/San Mig Coffee and Ginebra to at least the quarterfinals in every conference.

Five years ago, the streak nearly came to an end in the 2021 Philippine Cup bubble in Bacolor, when the Kings had to face Phoenix in a playoff for the last bus to the quarterfinals. They prevailed, 95-85, despite playing before virtually empty stands because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

All streaks come to an end.

Ginebra fans are hoping that it doesn’t happen this conference.