Cone’s calculated gamble

Why did Barangay Ginebra coach Tim Cone sit Scottie Thompson, Troy Rosario and Japeth Aguilar the entire fourth quarter of TNT’s 101-94 win in Game 2 of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals at the Smart Araneta Coliseum last Friday?

Entering the last frame, Ginebra was down by 19 and Cone chose to play reserves Jeremiah Gray and Ralph Cu the full final 12 minutes. Rookie John Abis played nearly the whole period, logging 11:41 minutes with Nards Pinto and Isaac Go timing 5:08 each. Cone started the final quarter with Cu, Abis, Gray, Go and Pinto. Thompson was scoreless in the first half but rebounded with eight points in a no-relief third quarter. Rosario, who was the X-factor in Game 1 with 16 points off the bench, hit six in the first half but was zero in the third period. Both had four personal fouls. Aguilar saw action in 8:03 minutes and his only stats were three rebounds, a block and a foul.

Somehow, Ginebra cut the lead down to 12 then Justin Brownlee and RJ Abarrientos checked back in, time down to 6:51. Another starter Stephen Holt subbed in with 18 seconds to go. Holt has been invisible in the Finals with no point in Game 1 and one point in Game 2.

From a 12-point deficit, Ginebra unloaded a 12-4 barrage punctuated by two Abarrientos triples. Brownlee’s layup brought it to 98-94, with 0:58 seconds remaining. After Brownlee grabbed a rebound off a Chris McCullough miss, Abis went for broke and drove in. But TNT’s defense held up, causing Abis to lose the ball in midair while attempting a layup. The turnover was crucial. If Abis scored on that possession, the lead would’ve been down to two or one on a three-point play. For Cone to trust Abis in such a critical moment was a gamble. But maybe it was his way to reward Abis and the other relievers for rallying the troops from what seemed like a lost cause at the start of the fourth.

Abis, 25, was Ginebra’s second round pick in last year’s draft and this conference, played in only seven games before the Finals. In Game 2, he sat out three quarters before getting the call in the fourth to wind up with four points, two rebounds, an assist and a turnover.

Up to the semifinals, Ginebra was last in the league in bench scoring with an average of 22.2 points, owing to a short rotation where four players logged at least 30 minutes a game. To survive what looms to be a long series with TNT, Ginebra will need to stretch its bench minutes and Cone has done it in the Finals. In Game 1, Ginebra had more bench points, 33-10 and in Game 2, it was the same, 40-17.

TNT pulled a few surprises in Game 2, starting Jordan Heading instead of Rey Nambatac and assigning Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser as Abarrientos’ primary defender. Although Ginebra never led, Cone’s troops had a chance to steal it in the end. What triggered Ginebra’s downfall was giving up 25 free throws from which TNT scored 22 and yielding 50 paint points. TNT’s defense also brought down Ginebra’s assists from 30 in Game 1 to 17, resulting in a lower field goal percentage despite taking 15 more attempts.

Thompson, Rosario and Aguilar didn’t look like they were 100 percent healthy in Game 2. Cone probably decided to rest them in the fourth period and preserve their legs for Game 3 while putting his relievers to the test. It remains to be seen if the gamble will pay off in the 1-1 series tiebreaker tonight.