Ginebra Loses Anew as Aces Pound on Slaughter’s Absence

(Photo by the PBA Media Bureau)

Alaska Uses a Big Third Quarter to Get Third Straight Win

Sometimes, having a bully on your team helps a lot especially when you’re up against the elite teams in the PBA such as the Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings. The bully on your team will do the dirty works against the opponents’ best player from mind tricks to small antics that will take the focus out of that specific and even, absorb some elbows along the way. Usually, the bully on your team is your team’s main muscle man. Fortunately for the Alaska Aces, they do have their own muscle man and that man is none other than Vic Manuel.

Greg Slaughter is nowhere on the court but on the bench. Joe Devance isn’t playing just yet. Both men were forced to watch as their team got dominated for the second time around, this time by the surging Alaska Aces, 97-83. The Aces of Alex Compton hiked their win number to 3 after starting the season with two consecutive losses. On the other hand, Ginebra has dropped its second straight game exactly 9 days after their stunning loss at the hands of the Blackwater Elites.

What happened in the game? Below are the numbers:

The absence of Gregzilla balanced things out

Greg Slaughter has played a vital role in Ginebra’s Governors’ Cup championship which earned him the Best Player of the Conference award. So it’s no surprise that Ginebra missed him during last night’s encounter against the Aces as Alaska took advantage of the situation. Offensively, the Aces shot 44% from the field which also includes a 43% shooting from the 2-point area. This is precisely because Slaughter wasn’t around to challenge the Aces’ slashers. It also enabled the biggies of Alaska to do their works as Sonny Thoss had 17 points, complimenting the efforts of Vic Manuel who led the Aces with 18 points. The Aces also won the rebounding battle, 45-43.

Vic Manuel’s Efforts

Over the last few years, Vic Manuel has established a reputation as a bruiser, someone you wouldn’t enjoy playing against because of the mere fact that he will find ways to knock the ball out of your hands or worse, to frustrate you and eventually, take away your focus in the game. And we all saw Vic Manuel’s efforts to the fullest last night as he led the Aces with his18 points- 14 of those points came in the 2nd half when the Aces ran havoc against the puzzled Gin Kings. He shot 6 for 15 from the field and made 6 of his 8 attempts from the free throw line. Manuel also added  6 rebounds while playing for 23 minutes.

Conclusion

The good news for the Gin Kings though, they have until Friday to prepare for their game against the Phoenix Fuel Masters. It should give them enough time to ponder on their mistakes. It should give Tim Cone to plan the needed adjustments should Greg Slaughter miss that game, again because despite the Fuel Masters’ 2-2 record, Phoenix has vastly improved. Will Ginebra finally break their losing streak? They better. Why? The league-leading San Miguel Beermen are next after Friday. 

Ginebra is Over the Stunning Loss to Blackwater- Tim Cone Hopes so

(Photo by the PBA Media Bureau)

9 days should be enough for the Gin Kings to get over the trauma

Whenever the Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings lose a game in the PBA whether it’s in the Finals or in the elimination rounds, almost the whole of the venue is quiet. Why? Ginebra is the crowd darlings that’s why it’s extremely painful and maddening for their fans to see their beloved Gin Kings go down. But perhaps, one guy on the Ginebra bench is absorbing all of the pain and disappointment every time his team loses a game and that guy is none other than Coach Tim Cone, winner of 20 PBA championships.

Against the Blackwater Elites who handed Ginebra their first defeat in three games, Tim Cone has all the reasons to be disappointed with the performance of his players. They were limited to 77 points including 14 points 16 points in the 2nd and 4th quarters respectively. They shot 36% from the field and 15% from the three-point territory. They had 21 turnovers and their bench got outscored by Blackwater’s bench, 34-13.

9 days after their horrible game, Tim Cone is hoping that the Gin Kings have already put the Blackwater game behind them as they are up against the Alaska Aces who are coming into this game, riding on their 2-game winning streak. They destroyed the Kia Picanto in their last game when they limited Kia to only 65 points including only 5 points in the third quarter.

While Alaska is leaning on the confidence of Jeron Teng plus the presence of Calvin Abueva, the Aces are still up for an uphill battle against the Gin Kings because we all know that Ginebra could only get meaner and tougher to play against coming off a defeat.

Conclusion

Despite their shakiness which can be associated with the fact that they were still intoxicated by their championship run during the Governors’ Cup, the Gin Kings are still among this conference’s title contenders.

Prediction: Ginebra will win. 

Jeron Teng Looks Forward to 1st Game against Ginebra

(Photo by the PBA Media Bureau)

The son of Alvin Teng embraces confidence boost heading into battle against the giants

After winning their first two games to open the league’s 43rd season, the Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings looked like the team who is ready to take down the league’s best all-Filipino crew, the San Miguel Beermen. Then, they ran into the path of the Blackwater Elites who in turn, handed the Gin Kings their first taste of defeat this conference, 94-77. While the fans of the Gin Kings are hoping that their team will bounce back from this setback, they are heading into another anticipated battle and it’s not some mediocre team, folks. It’s the Alaska Aces who are now bannered by Calvin Abueva AND their prized rookie, Jeron Teng.

Facing the Gin Kings may be a daunting task but one player is looking forward to it and that player is Jeron Teng. In fact, the son of former PBA player, Alvin Teng, is the welcoming the confidence boost that he gained from breakaway third quarter against the Kia Picanto when outscored the entire Kia team, 13-5. Folks, that’s 13 of his 23 points in the win- Alaska’s 2nd straight.

Question: Can Ginebra defend Jeron Teng?

Realistically, Ginebra has no one on their current roster ASIDE from Joe Devance that can match-up the intensity of Jeron Teng on both ends of the court. As we saw in their previous game against Blackwater, Ginebra struggled to defend Mac Belo who scored 22 points despite making 6 of 17 shots. Aside from Belo, Ginebra also failed to limit Allein Maliksi who added 17 points for the win. 

Having said that, Ginebra will have their hands full on Jeron Teng aside from the Beast, Calvin Abueva. Sure, they can contain the Beast but defending Jeron Teng is another story all throughout. Tim Cone could send out Kevin Ferrer or even start Japeth Aguilar at the 3 spot to try to defend Teng. But then, we’re talking about Tim Cone, ladies and gentlemen, the winningest coach in the history of the PBA. One way or another, he’ll figure things out. But then again, we’re also talking about defending Jeron Teng. 

Prediction: Alaska will stun the Gin Kings in Sunday’s game, January 21.

Can Blackwater Beat Streaking Gin Kings?

(Photo by the PBA Media Bureau)

Leo Isaac says the Elites are “STRONGLY MOTIVATED” to beat Ginebra

For any team to be able to beat a well-coached, a well-oiled team like the Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings, you will need more than just a talented team. You will need a disciplined team because you are talking about a Tim Cone-coached Ginebra squad that has won the last two of the Governors’ Cup championships so you’ll definitely need all the help you can get especially if you’re a mid-field team like the Blackwater Elites.

According to Head Coach Leo Isaac, the Elites are STRONGLY MOTIVATED to start 2018 by handling the Gin Kings their first win of the conference. Coming off a victory over the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters to end their 2017 campaign, the Elites are hoping to move to 2-1 record after tonight’s game although Blackwater knows for themselves that they are faced with a daunting task of defending the powerful Twin Towers of Greg Slaughter and Japeth Aguilar.

Question: Can the Elites actually beat the Gin Kings fair and square?

Realistically and statistically, the odds are against the Elites but if we are to look at the performance of their notable players against Rain or Shine, you will see that Blackwater MIGHT have a shot at taking down the Gin Kings. Why? Mac Belo played one of his best games since coming into the PBA after leading his team with 25 points which included 5 for 9 shooting from the three-point line. Mike Digregorio added 23 points while rookie Reymar Jose totaled 12 points. Allein Maliksi had 10 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists although he went 3 for 12 from the field while coming off the bench. 

Key to victory for the Elites: Bench Production

While Blackwater has a continuously re-emerging Mac Belo plus a promising rookie in Reymar Jose, the Elites must work as a complete unit meaning the bench players must produce more than 17 points- the numbers they had against Rain or Shine. And they won despite 53 points from the bench of Rain or Shine. 

You can’t just rely on your starters to carry your team and save the day. Especially not against Ginebra. 

Prediction: Ginebra will win against Blackwater. 

The Pros and Cons of Keeping Joe Devance

(Photo by the PBA Media Bureau)

Free agent Devance says he is staying with Barangay Ginebra

In the NBA, we have Gregg Popovich and Tim Duncan, Phil Jackson and Michael Jordan, among others. These are the best coach-player tandems that were virtually successful throughout their stint together. Duncan, for one, has stuck with his coach through thick and thin in a relationship that lasted for almost two decades which produced 5 championships for the San Antonio Spurs. In the PBA, we have that rare combination of a coach and a player who could win together. Among those pairs is Tim Cone and Joe Devance.

The two won multiple championships together with the San Mig Super Coffee Mixers including Tim Cone’s second grand slam and now, to Governors’ Cup championships with the Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings. In fact, Tim Cone has said it in numerous times that Joe Devance has been one of the best players he has coached in his decorated coaching career owing to  the fact that Devance’s height plus his ability to play all 5 positions gives Tim Cone the flexibility to put Devance in any given position depending on the need and the situation.

However, their relationship is currently facing a threat as Joe Devance was surprisingly tagged as a free agent by the Gin Kings. The good news is, Joe Devance has already said that he’s sticking with the crowd darlings despite looming interest from Coach Louie Alas of the Phoenix Fuel Masters who said that signing Joe Devance will be a long shot.

Question: assuming that Ginebra decides to re-sign Joe Devance anew, what are the pros and cons of doing so?

Pros: Versatility and Flexibility

As mentioned above, Joe Devance is one of the few guys in the PBA who can play any position with ease. He can do almost everything for the Gin Kings. He can defend well because of his height and wingspan. He can be a point guard who can also shoot long-distance bombs. He’s almost a complete package for Tim Cone. No wonder why Tim Cone loves this guy. 

Cons: Fewer Minutes for New Guys. And fewer Opportunities

While keeping JDV will enable the Gin Kings to have a reliable scorer off the bench, his roster spot and playing minutes will be eaten and these are the things that can be given to the new guys like Jett Manuel or give more minutes for Jervy Cruz.

Additionally, imagine the possibilities if JDV is to be traded for younger players? Who knows? The core of the Gin Kings are not getting younger so they will have to start looking into the long run and start looking for new players who can take over once the veterans call it a career. But then again, JDV is still JDV. 

Conclusion

While it’s already possible that Ginerba will keep JDV, for now, it’s also unlikely that he will finish the season or his career with Ginebra. But then again, who would want to break a winning tandem like Tim Cone and Joe Devance? 

Greg Slaughter is the Only One who Can Stop the Kraken- Tim Cone

If there’s one Ginebra player who can match-up against Fajardo, it’s Greg Slaughter. (Photo by the PBA Media Bureau)

June Mar Fajardo might be a 4-time MVP but GregZilla got the numbers in his favor.

During the course of the past 4 seasons, June Mar Fajardo has collected 4 MVP awards on top of 5 championships for the San Miguel Beermen which included the first two of the 42nd season. In fact, the Beermen had a chance to achieve a rare Grand Slam if not to the Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings who denied the Beermen of that chance upon beating them convincingly during the quarterfinals of last season’s Governors’ Cup.

On the other hand, Fajardo’s fellow Cebuano and long-time rival, Greg Slaughter has recently recovered from the injury which made him miss a ton of the previous two seasons and played a vital role during Ginebra’s championship run in the Governors’ Cup which ended with Ginebra hoisting another Governors’ Cup trophy after a full 7-game slugfest against the Meralco Bolts. To cap his successful stint during the Governors’ Cup, he earned the Best Player of the Conference award, an award that was backed by great performance throughout the closing conference of the league’s 42nd season.

On Christmas Day, Greg Slaughter exploded for 24 points and 12 rebounds, leading Ginebra to a win over the fading Magnolia Hotshots. Fajardo, on the other hand, had 26 points and 9 rebounds on December 27 against the Bolts.

While many coaches think that Fajardo is a virtually unstoppable, playing like an import, one coach thinks otherwise. That coach is none other than Tim Cone who said that Greg Slaughter may be the only player who can match-up with his Cebuano rival due to his height plus his ability to engage in a one-on-one battle against SMB’s star center. And Tim Cone isn’t wrong either. Strength-wise and stat-wise, only Slaughter can match up the numbers that Fajardo is putting up nowadays.

Conclusion

While Fajardo and Slaughter have yet to face each other this season, we can expect that there’ll be a war come the game between the two giants. Who will come out victorious?

Prediction: Greg Slaughter. 

But of course, Fajardo belongs to the league’s best all-local starting line-up so that’s something that Tim Cone will have to work around with. 

Joe Devance Missing the Philippine Cup: How will it Affect Ginebra?

Joe Devance’s absence will be huge

Joe Devance has played a crucial role in Ginebra’s championship run during the Governors’ Cup. 

Make no mistake about it, folks. Joe Devance is one of Coach Tim Cone’s favorite players. Why?

Joe Devance has been one of the few PBA players who can effectively play any position and defend any position as well. That’s what makes JDV unique. But more than anything else, ever since Joe Devance came over to the Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings and reunite with Tim Cone, good things have started to come Ginebra’s way.

Joe Devance has been a vital piece to Ginebra’s back-to-back Governors’ Cup championships- both against Allen Durham and the rest of the Meralco Bolts. In the 2017 edition of the Governors’ Cup Finals which went to a Game 7, JDV has produced notably good numbers and came to the Gin Kings’ rescue whenever they needed a basket or a defensive stop. His height and wingspan makes him a perfect complement to Ginebra’s Twin Towers of Greg Slaughter and Japeth Aguilar. JDV has averaged 12 points and 5 rebounds during the closing conference of the 2016-2017 season.

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However, with the upcoming Philippine Cup starting on December 17, there’s one problem that may affect Ginebra’s chances this conference especially if they want to challenge the San Miguel Beermen. According to Coach Tim Cone, Joe Devance has recently gone under the knife to remove a bunion in his left foot which has been bothering him during the past conferences. This surgery will require JDV out of basketball-related actions for the next 3 months.

How will this affect Ginebra?

For starters, Ginebra will lose one of its power forwards who can shoot and score threes. Additionally, someone from the bench of Tim Cone will need to double his effort to at least, cover that 12 points per game that they will be losing. 

Fortunately, Ginebra will have Art Dela Cruz back as he has recovered from his injury. And, JDV’s absence will enable Tim Cone to field rookie Jett Manuel, Ginebra’s first-round pick in the PBA Draft.

Conclusion

One way or another, Ginebra will miss the services of Joe Devance once the season kicks off. But who knows? It might be a blessing in disguise. Who knows? JDV might come back as a better player eventually. For now, Ginebra will have to do with their current roster. 

By the Numbers: Three BIG Things that Made Ginebra Champions Anew

Just what went well for the Gin Kings in last night’s Game 7?

Tinyente bagged another Finals MVP award as he led Ginebra to another title. (Photo by the PBA Media Bureau)

As the 2017 PBA Governors’ Cup trophy was finally into the air inside the Philippine Arena, as the confetti rained down the court, as the crowd mobbed the winning team, Tim Cone and the rest of the back-to-back champions, the Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings finally released a sigh of relief. 

After all, they saw the Meralco Bolts cut down a double-digit lead to just 4 points with just under a minute to play in the 4th quarter. Fortunately, time was on the side of the Gin Kings as they held on to win Game 7 with a 101-96 decision in front of a mostly pro-Ginebra 54,000+ crowd that watched the rubber match. 

Now, let’s check out the numbers that enabled Ginebra to win it all, finally:

Tinyete’s 26 Points= Another Finals MVP Award

If there was one specific player who deserved all of the praises, it’s none other than one of the smallest guys from either team, Lewis Alfred Tenorio. His 26 points, built on 4 long range bombs, 4 assists and 2 steals in 41 minutes of action gained him another Finals MVP award to add to his already full resume. 

Mind you, folks, this guy was playing all conference long with an injured arm but decided to wait until the end of the season to undergo a needed surgery. 

Now that the season has ended with Ginebra being the champs, again, Tinyente’s sacrifices were all worth it. That, folks, is the living example of Ginebra’s NEVER SAY DIE attitude and whether you like him or not, Tenorio deserves a drop of your respect. 

50% Field Goal Shooting: The Less. The Better

Sometimes, you don’t need to shoot more to win a basketball game, especially in a championship game. The Meralco Bolts took 84 SHOTS in Game 7 and they only made 35 of them. In contrast, Ginebra only took 77 shots and yet they made 39 of them, a 50% field goal shooting. Efficient, isn’t it? They also better at the 2-point area (53%) and from long distance (43%). Now that’s how you win a championship. By hitting your target instead of missing them, horribly. 

55 Points for Ginebra’s Giants

As mentioned by this basketball pundit on wheels during the entire series, one of Ginebra’s main strength against the smaller Bolts is their height. And if you watched Game 7 last night, then you saw how the bigs of Ginebra continuously pounded on the inside while Justin Brownlee sniped from the outside.

The result: Brownlee, Greg Slaughter, Japeth Aguilar and Joe Devance went on to combine for 55 points- 23 from Brownlee alone. 

That’s a big difference compared to the output of Meralco’s bigs who got 26 points from Allen Durham and only 7 from Reynel Hugnatan. Now that’s dominance.

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Conclusion

Meralco may have lost, again but that doesn’t make them any weaker. No. It’s just that they’ve lost to a better team, again. They’ve lost to a hungrier, bigger and more talented team in Ginebra. That’s the reason why the Gin Kings are kings again.

Back to Basics: 3 Things Ginebra MUST Do in Game 4

To avoid complications. That is.

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Defending Allen Durham is a priority for the Gin Kings.

Like it or not, the Meralco Bolts didn’t look like the team that the Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings defeated in the first two games. 

In fact, if you managed to see last night’s Game 3 which the Bolts won, of course, the Bolts weren’t clanking most of their shots especially from outside. The Bolts weren’t bullied by the giants of Ginebra. 

And most importantly, Allen Durham, the reigning and now, two-time Best Import awardee, wasn’t bothered by Justin Brownlee or any of the Ginebra big men for that matter. For one game, the Bolts were making their shots and the Gin Kings faltered in the second half.

Fortunately for Ginebra, their Game 3 loss to Meralco only did one thing: extend the best-of-7 series to a Game 5 to say the least, and if they win tomorrow’s Game 4, a win in Sunday’s Game 5 will allow fans at the Philippine Arena to celebrate Ginebra’s 2nd consecutive Governors’ Cup championship. 

That, if they win tomorrow and, on Sunday. 

Now, let’s not get ahead of ourselves and simply focus on what the Gin Kings need to do come tomorrow’s Game 4 to avoid extension of this series:

Defense on Durham

In the first three games of the series, Allen Durham showed us why he is indeed, this year’s Best Import of the Governors’ Cup. Through 3 games, he normed 30 points, 18 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks. In a victorious Game 3, Durham exploded for 38 points while making half of his shot attempts. If anything, it was Durham’s marvelous performance last night proved that the defense of Ginebra on him wasn’t clicking unlike in the series opener when he scored 27 points but missed 12 shots. 

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What should Ginebra do?

Simple. Make life miserable for Durham. The Gin Kings must use their tremendous height advantage to frustrate the smaller Durham and the rest of the Meralco big men. Do that and the Bolts might just opt to shoot AND miss threes. Again. You shut down Durham and you disrupt Meralco’s offense. 

Clamp Down on Shooters

You want to know why Meralco won last night? Three-pointers. After making 13 combined threes in the first two games, Meralco dropped 11 long-distance bombs in Game 3 alone. 11 out 31 attempts, folks. 

And mind you, folks, Ranidel De Ocampo only played for 4 minutes before being taken out of the game due to an injury. It was the 7 three-point shots by the old man, Reynel Hugnatan, that proved to be the difference as Hugnatan provided the reinforcements for Durham with his 22 points off the bench, making him and Durham as the only Meralco players who scored in double figures.

What should Ginebra do?

Contest every Meralco basket regardless if it’s a two-point basket or a long one from outside. You leave one guy open. You’re gonna pay the price. You leave a shooter unguarded. He’ll find his rhythm eventually and it happened in Game 3. We all witnessed Reynel Hugnatan drain those threes as if he borrowed Jimmy Alapag’s shooting touch.

The Bench Must Produce. More.

Sure, Greg Slaughter had 12 points while making 50% of his shots in Game 3. Sure, Mark Caguioa scored 8 points on an efficient 3 of 4 field goal shooting. But the rest of the guys from Tim Cone’s bench? ZERO. Sol Mercado played for 12 minutes and Ginebra got nothing but 2 turnovers. The masked man, Kevin Ferrer also played for 12 minutes but only grabbed 5 rebounds and 2 assists. 

What should Ginebra do?

Simple. The bench players of the Gin Kings should score more and it is imperative that they do especially in situations when the Bolts are on the run and Ginebra’s starters are either resting or struggling to get anything going on the offensive end. If Tim Cone can get his bench players going, then Ginebra will become much harder to deal with. 

Conclusion

While everyone is expecting the Bolts to keep on fighting for their lives in this series, we all witnessed what happened to the opponent who handed a defeat to the Gin Kings in their previous meeting. What happened? That team lost two straight games which ended their season. 

By the Numbers: 3 Electrifying Reasons Why Sweep is No More for Ginebra

And they can only blame themselves for it

LA Tenorio had 5 of Ginebra’s 19 turnovers in Game 3. (Photo by the PBA Media Bureau) 

After winning the first two games of the best-of-7 finals series, a sweep was inevitable for the Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings. In fact, even after the defending champions dominated the series opener, there were already predictions being made by fans that the Gin Kings would sweep the series and take their second successive Governors’ Cup championship in a snap. Nope. No sweep. No celebration for the Gin Kings just yet as the Meralco Bolts found their shooting touch in time for Game 3 and beat the champs, 94-81 to extend this series to a Game 5, to say the least.

There were many things that went terribly wrong for Ginebra but let us focus on the three main reasons that doomed them in Game 3 and their chances for a sweep:

41 Heavy Minutes for Justin Brownlee

Time and again, Game 3 saw the Gin Kings tendency to rely on their import, Justin Brownlee who had to play for 41 minutes last night. 

That- despite the fact that Brownlee wasn’t shooting efficiently the entire game as he only made 7 of 20 field goals en route to finishing 15 points, his lowest in the series, so far. He also missed 3 of his 4 attempts from deep and also turned the ball over, 3 times.  

This failed Ginebra in many ways primarily because it took away the height advantage that the Gin Kings hold against the Bolts as the Twin Towers of Greg Slaughter and Japeth Aguilar played for 29 and 28 minutes respectively Although both giants combined for 26 points, 7 rebounds and 3 blocks, they could have produced more had Tim Cone employed to give them more minutes. But that was Tim Cone’s call to make. 

19 Turnovers

In any game of basketball at any given league, you turn the ball over, you lose an opportunity to score and you give your opponents that opportunity to score at the other end. That was what exactly happened last night. 

The Bolts forced Ginebra to uncharacteristically commit 19 turnovers which the former converted into 14 points. LA Tenorio had 5 of those miscues. Those 19 turnovers can be looked at two different ways: either Meralco was defending well or, the Gin Kings were occasionally careless every time they had the possession of the orange. Either way, turnovers hurt them in Game 3 and will hurt them tomorrow if they control their turnover number.

10 Offensive Rebounds

One evidence that the Gin Kings failed to take advantage of their height advantage in Game 3: they weren’t aggressive in getting those offensive rebounds as they only managed to grab 10 rebounds on the offensive end. The Bolts, smaller team, grabbed 17 offensive boards. The only plus point in this was that Ginebra was the more aggressive team in terms of scoring more on those second chances as evident by their 13-7 advantage in second-chance points. 

Conclusion

Make no mistake, folks. The Gin Kings are expected to go all-out come tomorrow’s Game 4 and when that happens, the Bolts can only pray that their threes will hit their target because if not, then the balloon and the confetti will fall upon the fans come Game 5 at the Philippine Arena- assuming that Ginebra goes on to win Game 5, too. 

By the Numbers: 2 Reasons why Tim Cone will Lead Ginebra to Another Championship

Because there are reasons why Tim Cone is the greatest coach in the PBA.

This year’s Governors’ Cup Finals will add another chapter to the rivalry between two of the most respected coaches in the PBA. (Photo by the PBA Media Bureau)

If you need more reasons to be excited for the upcoming Finals series between the Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings going up against up the very same team whom they’ve beaten in last season’s Finals of the Governors’ Cup which the Gin Kings after Justin Brownlee nailed that buzzer-beating three at the end of Game 6, then just imagine this, folks, come Game 1 on Friday, we will be treated to another mind-blowing, nail-biting mental warfare between two of the greatest and highly-respected head coaches the league has ever seen: Tim Cone versus Norman Black.

Related: Coaches Battle: Tim Cone vs Leo Austria

In the Finals. Sure, it will be the players who will be doing all of the dirty works for their respective but at the end of the day, all of the game plans, all of the defensive schemes are drawn out by the head coaches themselves with the help of their respective team of assistant coaches.

Heading into their 5th Finals series against one another, both Cone and Black acknowledged two different things during the press conference for the upcoming Finals: for Norman Black, the Bolts were the less-experienced team and that lack of experience was one of the reasons why they lost to Ginebra.

But Black was quick to say that since Meralco has already tasted what it feels to be in the Finals, to be kicked in the rear by a monstrous team like the Gin Kings, the next step for the Bolts is to go all the way to the Finals and win their first ever championship in the history of the franchise.

For Tim Cone, on the other hand, the Gin Kings’ goal remains the same for this year’s Governors’ Cup Finals as of the goal they had last year. In fact, Cone mentioned that the Gin Kings’ desire to go all out in the Finals is fueled by their 5-game defeat from the hands of the San Miguel Beermen during the season opener Philippine Cup Finals. The Ginebra tactician also added that he is hoping that his players will use that losing experience to motivate themselves in the Finals.

However, Tim Cone will come out on top in this specific match-up against Norman Black despite the mere fact that the Bolts have more firepower and Allen Durham is also playing exactly like the Best Import he was last year and he will be again this year.

Why? Scroll down for the numbers:

31 Finals Appearances. 19 Championships

This is the main reason why Tim Cone is dubbed as the winningest coach in the PBA. His 19 PBA championships have long surpassed the 15 of the legendary Baby Dalupan. Cone won 19 of his 31 trips to the Finals, a 61% winning percentage in the Finals.

Norman Black isn’t far behind with 11 championships. But what differentiates Cone from Black is the fact that the former won 2 Grand Slams from two different franchises- the only one to do so in the history of the PBA and that is something that the great Baby Dalupan never achieved.

0-4: Norman Black’s record against Tim Cone in the Finals 

Like it or not, Norman Black, despite his vast experience as a player and as a coach, hasn’t cracked the code to beat Tim Cone in the Finals. And since Tim Cone has again, defeated Black in last year’s Finals of the Governors’ Cup, he certainly knows that he can do it again this year knowing that he has something that he didn’t have last year: Gregory William Slaughter who was out last year after undergoing a season-ending surgery.

Even though Norman Black and Slaughter enjoyed success during their run with Ateneo in the UAAP, Tim Cone is something that Norman Black isn’t: a great motivator.

Thanks to Cone, Slaughter has risen and helped Ginebra against Talk N Text in their semifinal series. And if you are Tim Cone, you’d surely want to keep your unblemished record against Norman Black in the Finals, right?

Back in 2013, Abueva Said he Wants to Play for Ginebra…Someday

Is the beast on the move?!

Where will the Beast go from here? (Photo by the PBA Media Bureau)

Over the years, Calvin Abueva has been known, loved and even hated for his aggressiveness as well as for his defensive antics that have one primary purpose: to make any player he is guarding at any given moment lose his focus, his cool and eventually, that player’s offensive game will be ruined.

That’s the kind of game Abueva has been playing ever since he came to the PBA since he was drafted by the Alaska Aces back in 2012. Even back in his college days with the San Sebastian Stags in the NCAA where he also won an MVP award, the Beast was already dominant on both ends of the court.

As the Alaska Aces ended their miserable 2017 PBA Governors’ Cup campaign with a 3-8  slate after another embarrassing defeat at the hands of the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, nagging whispers regarding Abueva’s future with the team have been making the rounds anew. Even though it has been continuously denied by the Alaska management namely, by Head Coach Alex Compton, circulating rumors has it that Abueva may be on the move come next season.

This is despite the mere fact that both Alaska and Abueva himself, have agreed to a 15.1 million Peso, 3-year deal back in 2015- a deal that will be ending this season. Should Abueva wants to remain with the Aces, it should be easy especially considering the fact that he was considered to be a part of the Aces’ core back in 2015. Was.

If Abueva will be playing for another team come the next season, the Aces will lose a big part of themselves and the Aces themselves know that. But, Abueva wasn’t even in uniform during the Aces’ latest defeat and he has been missing tons of games this season due to personal reasons and his stint with the Gilas Pilipinas.

Should the Beast make a move, which team would be the best destination? 

The answer to that question is simple: Ginebra. As mentioned by Abueva himself in the past and earlier this season, he wanted to play for the fan-favorite Gin Kings. In fact, photos of Calvin Abueva in a Ginebra uniform have been circulating in the social media as of late and apparently, fans are clamoring for it to happen- fans of the Gin Kings and the Beast to say the least.

Here’s the question, folks, let’s say Abueva does go on to sign with the Gin Kings, will he fit in the already crowded and talented line-up of Coach Tim Cone? The answer would be a BIG YES. Why? Ginebra is known as the team who lives and dies by their “Never Say Die” mantra and when it comes to never quitting no matter the odds are, we all know that the Beast can live up to that reputation and will stand up against opposing players no matter how big they are- something that we all saw during his stint with Gilas that played in the FIBA Asia Cup in Lebanon earlier this year.

Whether or not Calvin Abueva will play for Ginebra, it’s all up to the Beast himself and, to the Alaska management, too. Abueva may have been tamed down a bit but we all know what he’s capable of. The Aces can drop him but they too, themselves know that replacing a player of Calvin’s caliber is a monstrous task for any team for that matter.

If ever Ginebra gets to sign the Beast, that alone, could change the balance in the PBA because imagine a team that has a healthy Greg Slaughter, Japeth Aguilar, Scottie Thompson who is making a name for himself too, an always reliable LA Tenorio and, the Beast, that’s a scary team. It’s like giving a monster another claw for himself.

Cone Wants Japeth And Joe To Get Their Offense Going.

Photo by PBA Media Bureau

Barangay Ginebra San Miguel is off to a great start after falling behind in their first game of the conference against the Phoenix Fuel Masters in an out of town game. The country’s most loved ball club who had a very impressive performance in their last conferences, clinching a title in the Governors’ cup in the previous season and made another finals appearance in the season opener conference against the tough contender San Miguel Beermen.

Cone and the rest of the squad is on a mission again this conference to try and bring the glory to their country-wide-known franchise as they prove that they can beat elite teams such as Star Hotshots who they previously gave a beating in a Manila Clasico showdown in MOA arena in front of an expectedly huge crowd.

The most winningest coach was left impressed with how their import was able to battle head to head with tall imports. Barangay Ginebra brought back their Governors’ Cup hero Justin Brownlee as their reinforcement into this conference which allows each team to bring in an import with the maximum height limit of 6’10”. The Ginebra management chose familiarity over size to try and clinch another title. But the most successful coach still wants Japeth Aguilar and Joe Devance to find their tempo and get their offense going given that they are the ones banging their bodies inside the lane with the role to fill the shoes left by Greg Slaughter.

As the Ginebra squad tries to figure out a way to get everybody involved, it is probably one of the best start in their franchise history that will eventually lead them to another Finals appearance without the help of the tallest player in the PBA, Slaughter who is expected to suit up next conference in another import-laiden conference.

Coaches Battle: Ginebra’s Tim Cone vs SMB’s Leo Austria, Who Wins?

Coach Tim Cone and Coach Leo Austria

I am shaking in my Boots. Believe it or not that phrase came from the winningest Coach in the PBA and the current coach of Barangay Ginebra. Tim Cone is up against Leo Austria a long time a long time coach and a champion coach as well.  There is a good reason to be shaking in his boots.

Tim Cone may have a slight edge of advantage in coaching having more championships under his belt but it does not assure him of a win against the tough SMB team.

We know it will be a big uphill challenge and we will continue to battle for the championship. We will find a way to compete and make them uncomfotable – Tim Cone.

Tim Cone knows the task ahead will not be easy. The SMB is the top team of the series and had looked seemingly unbeaten in the elimination round until the playoffs series in which they also showed resilience and ruggedness  against tough opponent.

The first thing that most teams and people would think playing against them is how to stop JunMar and we know that already but JunMar is not the only one. We have learned a lot from our semi-finals series – Leo Austria.

This will be tough and exciting. The battle of full house vs power house – Leo Austria 

Power House and Full House, indeed it’s a good subtitle to this upcoming finals series. The smoke is almost clear and tonight the two teams will start another epic PBA finals series.

Let’s look at the accomplishments of each coaches.

atOptions = { ‘key’ : ‘2d50940ae9f4b271b70e6555ad6e8dc8’, ‘format’ : ‘iframe’, ‘height’ : 250, ‘width’ : 300, ‘params’ : {} }; document.write(”); Tim Cone’s accomplishments so far:

19× PBA champion (1991 Third Conference, 1994 Governors’, 1995 Governors’, 1996 All-Filipino, 1996 Commissioner’s, 1996 Governors’, 1997 Governors’ 1998 All-Filipino, 1998 Commissioner’s, 2000 All-Filipino, 2003 Invitational, 2007 Fiesta, 2010 Fiesta, 2012 Commissioner’s, 2013 Governors’, 2014 Philippine, 2014 Commissioner’s, 2014 Governors’, 2016 Governors’)
2× Grand Slam champion (1996, 2014)
3× PBA Coach of the Year (1994, 1996, 2014)
7× PBA All-Star Game Head Coach (1992, 1994, 1999, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2014)
William Jones Cup Gold medal – first place, 1998 Taipei
Asian Games Bronze medal – third place 1998 Bangkok

Leo Austria’s accomplishments so far:

As coach:

3× PBA champion (2014–15 Philippine, 2015 Governors’, 2015–16 Philippine)
2× PBA Baby Dalupan Coach of the Year (2015, 2016)
PBA All-Star Game head coach (2016)
2002 PBL Challenge Cup Champion
ABL Coach of the Year (2013
ABL champion (2013)

As player:

PBA champion (1990 First Conference
PBA Rookie of the Year (1985)
1988 Quezon Medalya ng Karangalan Award for Sports

Who you got?

Tim Cone still Scared to Play San Miguel But Promised to Figure out How to Limit Junmar

Photo by PBA Media Bureau

The short manned Ginebra Roster will be needing more than guts and heart to be able to stop the San Miguel Beermen in this Finals series as they face the star studded Beermen lineup with Junmar Fajardo as the focal point.

Tim Cone has figured out to outplay several tough teams in the PBA through their intensive defensive style. Ginebra defeated San Miguel in the semis last conference where Ginebra was hailed champions after defeating Meralco Bolts in game 6 of the Governors’ Cup Finals. It was an import laid conference and this current series? It’s gonna be a different story. With Greg Slaughter out of the picture and Joe Devance currently hurt, Ginebra would have to rely on Tim Cone’s “Next Man Up” challenge.

“I think my team can match up everybody, it does hurt that we can’t have Greg Slaughter for Junmar, and then Joe Devance should be here, he was invited to come but we wanna keep him off the street cause he’s got an injured feet he’s on a rehab right now ” Tim Cone’s answer when asked on how they can stop Fajardo.

“I believe in our guys, we will try to find ways to compete with this team, we’re still in shock that we’re 5 wins to 1 against san miguel but that’s the plan would be. “

“I have not watched San miguel play in about three weeks, I dont like to watch other series while we’re focusing on this one, we focus on what we have.”

Coming off a tight series, Cone has yet to review the tapes to prepare for the Finals showdown but he assured that he will get in to it after the Press Conference held at Sambokojin in Eastwood City Libis.

“I don’t really even have a plan yet to stop Junmar, I’m not even sure if there is a plan to stop Junmar and I don’t even think coach Jackson could figure out how to stop Junmar”.

Tim Cone:"The MVP of The Series, If We Could Choose One, It Would’ve Been Jervy Cruz"

Photo by PBA Media Bureau

Tim Cone is just left overwhelmed by the Ginebra crowd after going through a tough series against his former team Star Hotshots (Purefoods Franchise). This series has been a game of adjustments for both squads from a coaching stand point and who ever gets to execute these adjustments and gets the momentum gets that W.

“Coach Chito has made a really great adjustment playing Ramos, it just really spreads us out and Ramos had a big game.” Cone talks about how the Star Coach did an excellent job in scouting them and making the key adjustments which made them do in game plans to alter the other side’s momentum.

“It was an amazing series, I feel bad for Ping cause he played tremedously the whole way through.” Cone said.

Sol Mercado who always serves as the energizer of the Ginebra squad has been recognized by Coach Tim Cone but what stood out is the person who have made a great impact to their games in the absence of Joe Devance.

“I thought that the MVP of the series, if we could choose one, it would’ve been Jervy Cruz, he’s the guy who stepped up for us in Joe’s Absence, he was the key guy.” -Tim Cone

Is Ginebra’s Fourth Quarter Benching in Game Five a Strategic Approach of Tim Cone?

Photo by PBA Media Bureau

After being trailing with as much as 17 points in game 5 against the Star Hotshots, Ginebra players are hopeful that the move that coach Tim Cone did in the final quarter will pay off on their game 6 mission. Creating a huge surprise for the PBA viewers, Ginebra primary point guard LA Tenorio is confident that preserving them for the next game will definitely help them to gain enough thirst for a win in game 6 win or go home showdown.

It has been a tried and tested strategy of Tim Cone to spare his starters from a game that he knows is already slipping off their hands. This has been proven by some of the Star Hotshots’ players like Marc Pingris who played under Coach Tim Cone for a while and he is a living proof that this strategy has helped them gain enough energy going to the next game especially after having only one day off every game.

Tim Cone utilized his bench role players during the 4th quarter with Sol Mercado only played 20 seconds in the final quarter while Japeth Aguilar, LA Tenorio and Jervy Cruz are on the bench watching their bench players do the job for them who also did an awesome job in cutting the lead down to 7 in the dying minutes of the payoff period from being down with as much as 17 points.

Seeing the frustration on Tim Cone’s face, he had his assistant coach to call the plays for Ginebra in the fourth quarter while he let’s his players figure out what to do as he sat on the bench giving a dagger look to the table officials making them realize how frustrated he was with the calls but knowing the most winningest coach in the PBA, this is just his way of sending a message to his people that they need to come out there and play their best like there is no tomorrow.

Ginebra will try to live another day and force a do or die match up against the Star Hotshots on Sunday in Araneta Coliseum.

Cone still having a tough time facing former team Star

Photo Courtesy of PBA Media Bureau

After a successful coaching era with the Star Hotshots before taking over the coaching job for Barangay Ginebra San Miguel that eventually led him to another title, Tim Cone still finds it hard to face his former team Star.

“6 years after coaching Alaska, I still find it hard to face them in a game,” stressing the chemistry he built with the players and the core he developed to get titles with Alaska.

“From a personal standpoint, it’s still hard to face Star over San Miguel or TNT and so on”

“But from a coaching standpoint, it’s hard to face San Miguel, Junmar is still hard to match every coach still find ways on how to stop him”

Ginebra will be facing San Miguel on January 8 after their latest Christmas Manila Clasico win.

“We somehow knocked them out last conference in the best of five series, so they will come out and have revenge.” talking about their next game against San Miguel Beermen next year.

Tim Cone on non-call on Sol Mercado’s travelling violation: "We have nothing to apologize for"

credits PBA media bureau

The fans and the players went crazy after the referees didn’t call a what could be a travelling violation on Sol Mercado.

The Meralco Bolts were trying to make a comeback and Ginebra were leading 87-81 when Sol Mercado got away with a travelling violation that resulted on a Scottie Thompson’s three pointer later on and push the lead up to 9 points, 90-81 with 44 seconds left in the game.

“We have nothing to apologize for” said Cone on non-call on Sol Mercado’s travelling violation.

“I bet so many bad calls, the last two conferences we were knocked out in what we consider bad calls. We have nothing to apologize for” said by the Ginebra mentor

Ginebra were knocked out by GlobalPort in the last Philippine Cup on a controversial win with multiple violation on the final possession of the Batang Pier that were not called by the referees.

“It’s part of the game, it happens” added by the 18 time champion coach.

Tim Cone also mentioned the non-call on Allen Durham’s push in the rebounding battle against Justin Brownlee.

“My caught there is a player earlier where, Durham got caught on a push on, an obvious push on Justin right in the back, Justin had the ball and put it back in and he push him right out of play, and I call a timeout” cited by Cone.

“That’s part of the game, anybody could complain about all they want” added by the american mentor.

Tim Cone compliments Sol Mercado’s game 2 defense, "He’s our MVP tonight"

Photo by PBA Media

With another surprising defensive approach, Tim Cone made another breakthrough in making it hard for the Meralco Bolts import to replicate his game 1 performance by putting a combo guard to man the best import awardee Allen Durham.

Tim Cone, is known for his genius innovations when it comes to coming up with different kinds of strategies based on what kind of game and who they’re facing and in this game against Meralco in game 2, the league’s most successful coach gave Sol Mercado the hardest assignment of the night to man their opponent team’s import.

Sol Mercado’s first PBA finals appearance is one of the milestones that the PBA have reached, one of the many first time records in this wonderful conference. Mercado made it hard for Durham to create shots and even stopping Allen from a possible rampage again.

Sol Train, played man to man defense on Durham while their frontliners such as Justin Brownlee, Japeth Aguilar and Joe Devance protects the rim as a support making it a rough road for the Meralco Bolts import before making a field goal.

“Your defense is your constant, the offensive side of all especially shooting that varies from game to game you’ll have good nights you’ll have bad nights but your defense is your constant and that’s why we hang our hats on our defense.” Tim Cone said

Tim Cone also explains how well they executed their plans and how hard it is to stop guys like Durham. “We changed the match ups a little bit today that Sol go after Allen Durham and he did a great job just kinda limit his touches  then when Durham got by Sol there was either Justin or Japeth there at the rim trying to protect it.”

The Barangay Ginebra San Miguel coach repays Sol Mercado’s great defensive execution against Durham.”You gotta give the credit to Sol, it was a very defensive game It think you gotta give it to the one with the best defense,  He’s really our MVP tonight.”

“Sol has certainly got his disadvantages when he guards Durham because of the size and so Norman’s gonna figure out things to do for him and we gotta figure out something for these adjustments.” Cone said.

Tim Cone says Jimmy Alapag is the ‘X-Factor’ of the series

People thought that Meralco Bolts’ hulking import Allen Durnham is the most important man for the Manny Pangilinan-owned franchise.

For the most winningest coach of PBA, Tim Cone, it is no other than Jimmy “The Mighty Mouse” Alapag.

“I think the real X-Factor is Jimmy Alapag. I don’t think it’s secret, but the level of play and how far the level of play [of Meralco] got elevated when he came out of retirement,” Cone said.

Alapag formally announced his retirement on January 9, 2015, before serving as a Gilas Pilipinas assistant coach and a team manager of Talk N’ Text team.

Few months after leaving the his #3 jersey hanging as a Talk N’ Text veteran guard, he came out of retirement and signed with the Meralco Bolts for a two-year deal worth P10.08 million.

And now, the Mghty Mouse still has the skills of being one of the dangerous point guard in the Philippine league.

Cone added that Alapag’s leadership and experience on winning games is what made him the “X-factor” of the Best-of-Seven series of the PBA Governor’s Cup Finals against Barangay Ginebra Kings.

“He knows how to win. He’s won on all levels and he knows how to teach the young players. He’s gonna get them going.” Cone said.

Tim Cone on Scottie Thompson’s performance in game 5. "He was so incredibly unselfish."

Since Scottie Thompson entered the professional league, we rarely see him score or just concentrate in contributing on the points production for Barangay Ginebra but their game 5 performance against SMB which they won with a huge lead was the first time that this rookie point guard scored more than 20 points who usually just dominates the boards and assists.

“We were mostly concern about Scottie, he was so incredibly unselfish that really you have  to force him to shoot.” Tim Cone stressed in the post game interview after their win against SMB. “First play of the game we decided to play for him to come out and take that first shot bahala na  I don’t care, you shoot it if you miss you just shoot it and when I said that the whole room kinda laughed” This move of Cone to start the game simply made a huge difference in their match with SMB.

“The point is we wanted him to come out and be aggressive he went out and took that shot and then he missed it so we were like uh-oh but then he just got on fire and I think he took five of our first six shots that kinda said to myself Yes! the message was sent to Scottie I think we have a shot in this game I feel like that we have a shot.” After hitting 5 of their first field goals in the first quarter, Ginebra made a huge run afterwards though SMB succeeded in trying to catch up, Ginebra still continued and played their best to get the win.

“Sol hits first 3 threes. It became contagious its nice it was such a redemptive win we got redemption on this game.” the most successful coach in the league said.

"Joe got it going" Tim Cone said on containing Fajardo in game 1

Before Ginebra entered the semi final phase against the Championship caliber SMB, they had one concern, that’s how will they be able to contain Junmar Fajardo since they don’t have Greg Slaughter to match him up.

But in their 2nd meeting this conference, Ginebra found a way to make it hard for Fajardo in conquering the paint and diverted the SMB’s offensive focal point. “We felt we dont deserve to be on the same floor during the first half, we got frustrated.”  Tim Cone said after trailing with as much as 13 points through out the first half of Semifinals game 1.

“We haven’t been here in this situation in a while we dont know how hard we need to play in a game like this.”   Cone states that they lack of experience especially with him being in the semi-final round with Ginebra gives them a hard time on identifying the level of performance they need to overcome an experienced team like San Miguel Beermen in terms of playoffs appearances and championships.

“Our guys came out and played raised their level of performance, though we had lost our confidence during the first half ,they kept battling and got us the momentum.” Cone said.

“This doesnt win the series not big of a deal game two is the big deal.”
“SMB’s 5 is so solid its better than an all star team.”

Emphasizing how hard it is to match the level of performance of SMB and their players.

“Joe got it going for us ,hit a couple of shots ran the floor well. Junmar doesn’t have too many weaknesses but defending a guy like Joe makes it hard for him to chase down the floor.”

“Joe played a crucial part in 4th quarter he did a good job in making Fajardo chase them, he stepped out made a few shots the real key was joe in those situations he’s been to the grandslam he know how to play this game , I thought he played well from start to finish.” Cone Said.

Tim Cone on their win against Blackwater, "I worried about this one"

With the long break that each team got during the All Star game, Tim Cone is the most worried coach of them all with most of his superstars included in the All Star Games and events, the team wasn’t able to get them together as a whole team in practice.

“I worried about this one. Coming from a long break, and our starters are in the all star, we missed our starters during the practice.”

“Day to day im worried about this game really worried, worried about dawson, worried about lastimosa.”

But still the PBA’s most winningest coach is happy with the performance of the team and how they played well against the tough Blackwater Elite.

“The team played well defended well they passed the ball well. Everybody’s moving well, even our stars are passing the ball, Mark is passing the ball and Japeth is passing the ball.”

After this 3rd straight win, the Barangay Ginebra squad will face a rough road before finishing the eliminations with tough teams that they will play against in the next coming days.

“Now we have a tough stretch of games obviously, smb, ros, star mahindra,we’re jus gonna see if we we’re gonna take the challenge and see what we can do with those guys. Try to put our best foot forward and go against them we know that everybody wants beat ginebra.”

Cone also talks about the injuries in the team, players like Greg Slaughter, Chris Ellis and Jay Jay Helterbrand who are vital to their rotation and could’ve contributed a lot in their previous games.

“We were hoping to get him (Greg Slaughter) back before the end of the eliminations, let’s go to show how far he’s gonna go with it, he’s not running yet, he’s not playing yet he’s not yet cleared by the doctor he’s also not instructed to do anything yet. he is an ongoing absence we’ll let you know when he’s getting close. he’s still part of ways away. we hope we could get Chris (Ellis) back as well and we thought we could get him in this game and also Jay jay but JayJay  has been sick in couple of games and was not able to attend our practices, he’s been having high fever.”

Overall, the league’s most successful coach is happy with the way the team is playing, he’s finally getting the success of their day to day hardwork and will still continue to prove that he and the team can get into the finals and hopefully gets the Championship trophy this year.

Ginebra fans, What is wrong with this picture?

Players huddle without Coach Tim Cone

What is happening with the Barangay Ginebra bench? Can someone explain to us why Tim Cone looks like he was ousted from the team? Barangay Ginebra  lost the San Miguel Beer and is now 1-3 in the standing.