Once again our beloved Ginebra bows out of contention in the 2015 Philippine Cup losing to Global Port 84-83 in a controversial manner. Although the non-call could have changed the outcome of the ball game, there is no point in crying over spilled milk. It is unlikely that the result would be overturned.
In fairness to Global Port, they played their hearts out and deserved the victory. Ginebra had its chances in regulation. If not for the missed free throws, the Kings would have been the one to advance against Alaska. But it was not meant to be. Still there is a lot of hope in the future for the league's crowd darling. The record alone showed much improvement compared to the past conferences. Whereas Ginebra had losing records in the past, this time around they had a winning record at 7-4. They finished the elimination round in a flurry winning 3 straight games to finish no. 4 entering the quarterfinals.
Let us bear in mind that Coach Tim Cone himself did not guarantee instant success. The team was still a work in progress and yet they had a decent 7-4 win-loss record. Just imagine what could have happened if the Kings has already mastered the triangle? They were one step away from a semis stint right on Coach Tim's first conference with the team.
Throughout the conference, Coach Tim slowly assembled the team that he wanted. First, he got Nico Salva and then traded away Mac Barracael for Joe deVance. Next, he picked up sweet shooting Jervy Cruz. With the next conference scheduled in February, the Kings will have enough time to perfect the triangle and boost their offense. With a little fine tuning and perhaps some additional pieces, it will not take long for Ginebra to become a championship contender once again.
And so for now let us forget about that painful loss and move on knowing that our beloved team will much stronger come Commissioner's Cup.
