Losing Game 6 makes winner-take-all decider more difficult, says Ginebra’s Cone

MANILA, Philippines -- Barangay Ginebra head coach Tim Cone admitted that it will be tougher to play a Game 7 coming off a loss.

The Gin Kings absorbed an 87-83 Game 6 loss to the TNT Tropang Giga on Wednesday evening, which forced a winner-take-all Game 7.

Ginebra trailed by 10 points in the fourth quarter but cut the deficit to just one, 79-80, with 1:09 remaining.

But plays by Poy Erram and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson gave TNT just enough separation to secure the victory.

After the game, Cone stressed that while he will play in another Game 7, it is “never just another game.”

“They're never just another game. Game seven's are never just another game. They're tough games, tough to prepare for, especially when you come off a loss,” he said.

“I think it's a little bit harder going into Game 7 when you're coming off a loss, rather than coming off a win. It's tougher mentally to get right within 24 hours and ready to play. So that's gonna be our challenge,” he added.

The last championship Ginebra won was a seven-game classic against the Bay Area Dragons during the PBA Season 47 Commissioner’s Cup. Here, they also lost Game 6 before blasting the Dragons in Game 7.

“We gotta figure out what we gotta do for game seven. We just gotta.”

In the same interview, Cone stressed that they actually got the game they wanted, but TNT was just too good.

“We played the game we wanted, but they were just better at it than we were tonight. They made big shots, they made big stops, forced turnovers on us,” he said.

The coach said that the squad “made more mistakes than they did.”

“And we had a bad stretch in the fourth quarter that kind of turned the game in their favor, and we hobbled the rest of the way. Again, we can complain and be angry about it as much as we want, but we don't have time,” he added.

“And we tried to stay in the game. Like I said, it's the kind of game we wanna play. It's the kind of game that we hope to play. But again, tonight they were better at it than we were. So we'll see what we can do in Game 7.”

The championship will be up for grabs in the winner-take-all Game 7 on Friday, 7:30 p.m., at the Big Dome.