MANILA – San Miguel Beermen and Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings will go for the series lead when they tangle in Game 3 of the 2018 PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Wednesday night.
Kings head coach Tim Cone said his squad has moved on from the 109-134 loss to the defending champion on Sunday as they aim to regain the series lead in the match slated at 7 o’clock.
“We knew that San Miguel could turn the tables on us (following a lopsided loss in Game 1) but I don’t think (the players) really believed it,” Cone said. “They are who they are for a reason and they send the message to us strong and clear (in Game 2).”
“Our guys battled but it was not enough,” he added. “So we got one blowout, they got one blowout, so we’ll see what happens in Game 3. Usually, that means it’s gonna be a nice tight game. Both teams will be coming out ready to go.”
Beermen mentor Leo Austria, for his part, said he hopes his players will stay motivated and aggressive despite them coming from a lopsided victory against the crowd favorite.
“I hope that they will come out with the same intensity in Game 3,” said the six-time PBA champion coach. “No amount of motivation can motivate the players if they are self-motivated.”
“Ang gusto ko lang maiwasan nila iyong masangkot sa skirmishes like what happened to Arwind (Santos) and Chris (Ross in Game 2). Makaka-apekto kasi sa laro iyon,” he added.
Santos and Ross were both ejected in the latter part of Game 2 – the former was tagged with a flagrant foul 2 for hitting Kings’ Earl Scottie Thompson while the latter was slapped with two straight technical fouls.
This is the first time Kings and Beermen are facing each other in a championship series since last year’s PBA Philippine Cup, where Beermen defeated Kings in five games./PN
