Ginebra coach relieved Kings evaded Game 2 meltdown

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By ADRIAN STEWART CO
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Tuesday, February 28, 2017
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Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings center Japeth Aguilar (25) shoots the ball against the towering June Mar Fajardo (15) of the San Miguel Beermen in Game 2 of the 2016-2017 Oppo PBA Philippine Cup best-of-seven finals on Sunday.PBA
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MANILA – Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings head coach Tim Cone is relieved that his team avoided a huge meltdown in Game 2 of the 2016-2017 Oppo PBA Philippine Cup best-of-seven finals on Sunday at the Quezon Convention Center in Lucena City.

The Kings led by as much as 26 points late in the second period but the defending champion San Miguel Beermen rallied back before falling short in the overtime period, 124-118.

“It just goes to show how good San Miguel Beer is in coming back,” Cone said. “The only thing we did good was we were resilient. We fought through the ups and down and continued to battle.”

The Kings went on a strong start in Game 2 behind three-pointers by rookie Kevin Ferrer to build a lead as high as 65-39, but the Beermen rallied back in the second half to force overtime.

In the extension period, the Kings zoomed to a 118-112 lead on early hits by Japeth Aguilar and Sol Mercado but the Beermen tied it with back-to-back treys by Ronald Tubid before the Kings completed the win with a 6-0 finishing kick.

“We played absolutely perfect basketball in the first half. We played as badly in the first half of Game 1 that we did as good in Game 2. We were awesome in Game 2 in the first half,” Cone said.

“I think we are also fortunate as June Mar (Fajardo) and Chris Ross were fouled out, Marcio (Lassiter) was thrown out,” Cone added. “We are just glad that we are able to tie the series.”

With the series now tied at 1-1, the Beermen and the Kings will shoot for a 2-1 lead when Game 3 of the race-to-four championship series resumes on Wednesday at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum./PN

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