NBA type of approach pays off for re-energized Ginebra

After suffering a 21-point beatdown at the hands of the TNT Tropang Giga in Game 3 of the PBA Philippine Cup finals, Barangay Ginebra head coach Tim Cone applied a different approach for Game 4. 

Rather than going back to the hardwood right away and make adjustments for the following game, Cone and his staff decided to give the players a much-needed day off on the eve of Game 4.

“We just decided to give them an extra time off. We didn’t practice yesterday, but we practiced this morning… we just tried to give them a little extended time in terms of recovery,” said Cone on Sunday, December 6.

“We were afraid that we would wear them out today right before the game, but we felt that recovery time was more important,” he added.

True enough, this approach paid dividends for the Gin Kings as they beat the Tropang Giga by 10 points in Game 4, and more importantly, moved a step closer to seizing the elusive PBA Philippine Cup title.

Cone noticed that his team looked weary in the Game 3 loss and decided to take a page from the NBA in terms of preparation.

“That’s really what the NBA does. When they have a game on Monday and Wednesday, they’ll take the Tuesday off and have a shootaround type of practice on the day of game,” said Cone.

“We just took a page from the NBA and did that… only because I just felt they were really tired and it seemed to have work, I mean we did win and we did look like we played with a lot more energy today,” he continued.

Furthermore, Cone believes that his team played its best basketball in the PBA bubble and he hopes to carry this over into Wednesday, December 9, where Ginebra will look to close out the best-of-seven series in 5 games.

“This is our best game of the series by far and I think the best game in the conference,” Cone said. – Rappler.com