Barangay Ginebra head coach Tim Cone is welcoming the short two-day respite from semifinals action, admitting that the heavy schedule has been grueling especially playing against the powerhouse San Miguel.

Cone said it's been taking every ounce of energy and strength from his team just to keep up with a Beermen side loaded with weapons, all the more taking a 2-1 series lead in their best-of-seven semifinals series.

“Sometimes you look back and beating San Miguel feels like a miracle,” said Cone after Ginebra’s 100-90 win in Game 3.

“They are just really well-coached. They play to their strengths. They have so many weapons and they all contribute. What a team, really good team,” added the multi-titled mentor whose Kings needed a splendid effort from Jamie Malonzo and RJ Abarrientos just to get the much-needed breathing room in the second half.

Malonzo had his best game of the playoffs with 20 points while Abarrientos had a near-triple-double showing of 24 points – 18 of which he poured in the fourth quarter – to go with his nine rebounds and eight assists.

Even Japeth Aguilar showed out and added 18 points while Scottie Thompson had 16 points, seven rebounds and five assists and yet the Beermen kept themselves within striking distance before the game clock expired.

Keeping up to SMB’s high level of play every other day has been exhausting according to Cone.

“It’s really really hard, three games in five days. It's really tough we don't do it in the eliminations so come playoff time, three games in five days is really tough,” admitted Cone.

“That third game is really really hard so showing up every night and playing a perfect game is almost impossible when you play that many games in that short time,” he added.

Good thing for the Kings, though, the two-day break would allow them to recover while also enjoying some sort of buffer with the series lead also on their side.

Cone, however, warned his wards against any sort of sense of complacency especially that the rest will also be beneficial to the Beermen, particularly, June Mar Fajardo who has been hobbling with a calf injury.

“When you beat a team like that you feel really good about yourselves so our key is not to feel a little too good and see if we can repeat after a two day break,” he added.