The weary legs have certainly caught up with Barangay Ginebra and it was evident in its lackluster performance that led to an embarrassing 118-88 defeat at the hands of arch-rival Magnolia on Sunday, Feb.12.
Playing their fourth game in a week's span, the Kings simply didn’t have the energy on them as they got outplayed, outhustled and outperformed by the Hotshots right from the get go and never really got that push for a patented comeback in the endgame.
Ginebra head coach Tim Cone even described the loss as the Kings suffering a "perfect storm of negatives" when the anticipated tight game turned out to be a one-sided show that saw them suffer their worst Manila Clasico loss in 20 years according to league chief statistician Fidel Mangonon.
“It was a perfect storm of negatives for us tonight. I hate to admit this but we were really a tired team tonight. You can see it in the body language, our lack of activity,” said Cone.
“We just weren’t getting up and down the floor. We are not moving the ball. Ball was moving slowly tonight. We were late in all of our rotations. It was a perfect storm,” he added.
The Kings indeed seemed to be always a step behind a rejuvenated Hotshots who, on the other hand, were brimming with confidence after a new-found life with the arrival of import Antonio Hester.
Even the usual reliable resident import Justin Brownlee had to bleed for his 22 points especially failing to find the mark in the first half when Magnolia established a huge 23-point lead, even stretching it to its largest at 31 in the fourth quarter,
“We were tired and we played a team that was desperate and had a new life with an import. Just came out and they out-energized us,” Cone furthered.
“It turned into a really embarrassing night. You don’t want that on a Manila Clasico night when the crowd’s watching. The schedule just caught up with us,” he added.
Despite absorbing their first taste of defeat, Cone is opting to view the situation through a much rosy lens as the Kings finished the grueling stretch with a 3-1 record – something that he admittedly did not expect especially with the team still in high with their Commissioner’s Cup conquest.
“I was waiting for this to happen in one of the games. Before the stretch started, I felt that if we could get 3-1 or 2-2, I’d be happy. But once we got 3-0, we were greedy, we wanted to get to 4-0. Not getting 4-0 with a chance to get 4-0, now, it’s disappointing.”
“But overall, for the whole week, I’m proud of our guys, coming off the championship. But tonight was truly our first hangover night,” said Cone.