Cone puzzled by lopsided games PBA Finals

MANILA, Philippines — The first four meetings in the 2018 PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals have all been decided by blowouts.

And just like many spectators of the league, Barangay Ginebra’s head coach Tim Cone is perplexed.

“It has been a strange series,” Cone, the league’s winningest tactician, told the press on Friday night shortly after his crew made a 130-100 mincemeat of San Miguel Beer.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen on or been in one like this before,” he added.

Games One through Four have been settled by an average margin of 30.3 points.

But Cone, having played in 29 PBA seasons and countless playoffs series, may have an idea on why such trend persists in the grandest stage of the midseason conference.

“[It] kind of reminds me of the Rockets-Warriors in the (NBA’s Western) Conference Finals. I think five out of the seven games were blowouts and then there were two really close games in which Houston won — I think by four or by two,” he opined.

The first three meetings in the best-of-seven saga between the two aforementioned NBA teams were decided by a gap of roughly 25 points. The next two games featured a dogfight, and the final two, two which the Warriors won displayed a looser pace.

“I think what happens is that we got two … explosive teams, and if you allow one team to get momentum, it’s really hard to break because they are that good,” Cone furthered. 

Barangay Ginebra indeed grabbed the momentum in Game Four at the Big Dome, firing 17 points in succession immediately before letting the Beermen finally score in the opening moments of the first period.