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Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Basketball devider Nail-biting win over Converge feels like a miracle, admits Cone

Nail-biting win over Converge feels like a miracle, admits Cone

Published Dec 29, 2025 11:40 am

At A Glance

  • And that exactly spoke true for Barangay Ginebra which channeled its never-say-die attitude and outlasted Converge, 99-98, on a buzzer-beating triple from Stephen Holt in overtime.
Miracles only happen to those who never give up.
And that exactly spoke true for Barangay Ginebra which channeled its never-say-die attitude and outlasted Converge, 99-98, on a buzzer-beating triple from Stephen Holt in overtime.
Kings head coach Tim Cone went as far as saying that they only got lucky after they managed to turn the table of what could be an already lost game.
“I just kept saying right after the game that, you know, we got lucky, we got lucky, we got lucky,” said Cone after the nail-biting contest.
“I just couldn't stop repeating that because, you know, lose Scottie to foul out, lose Japeth to foul out, recover from that four-point shot that De Liano hit. And still make that big shot at the end,” he added.
Ginebra did look to be on its way to a quarterfinals exit when it trailed by three with 3.8 seconds left in regulation but Jeremiah Gray was fouled while taking a three-pointer. He coolly sank the three freebies to send the game to an extra period.
Even so, the odds seemed to be against Ginebra in the extra period with Aguilar fouling out to join Thompson at the bench. Juan Gomez de Liano nailed a booming four that gave Converge a 95-89 lead — a sequence which many thought was already the dagger against the Kings.
But Ginebra fought back with Holt delivering the telling blow off a broken play that was supposed to have RJ Abarrientos taking the last shot.
“It just felt, I don't know, felt miraculous to me,” Cone said of the come-from-behind win.
“But when it comes down to it, our guys fought and our guys battled. And we didn't play a great game tonight. We didn't have everything going tonight, but we just kept battling and battling and finding a way to win,” he added.
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