Gin Kings hard-pressed to step up game vs Tropang Giga

MANILA, Philippines -- “Change the narrative.”

Following a tough Game 1 loss against the TNT Tropang Giga Friday evening, Barangay Ginebra head coach Tim Cone stressed the need to play better moving forward in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals.

Cone and Ginebra fell behind by double digits as early as the first quarter before making a final push that proved to be a little too late, absorbing a 95-89 loss against their rivals Friday evening.

After the game, Cone went straight to the point, saying they did not play well at all.

“We have to understand that this is going to be a lot tougher series than it was the last one. We got a little bit confused out there. Credit their defense, they defended really well as usual,” he said.

“We got to step up our defense as well. We make way too many defensive mistakes. It’s Game 1. It’s not what we wanted. We’ll deal with it and move forward,” he added.

TNT dropped eight 3-pointers in the first quarter alone, as they fell behind by 11, 29-18.

The Tropang Giga held onto the lead until the final buzzer, despite a late run by Ginebra pulling them to within four points.

But clutch free throws by Rondae Hollis-Jefferson iced the game for TNT.

“I’m getting kind of tired of saying we were outplayed and outcoached. I’m getting tired of saying that,” Cone said. “We got to change the narrative.”

The Tropang Giga won Game 1 with star guard Jayson Castro sidelined due to a knee injury.

In the game, Hollis-Jefferson powered TNT with 34 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists as he played all 48 minutes. RR Pogoy added 15, while Calvin Oftana and Rey Nambatac had 10 apiece.

The Tropang Giga sank 14 of their 37 3-point attempts compared to a 7-of-28 clip from beyond the arc for Ginebra.

Game 2 of the Finals will be on Sunday, 7:30 p.m., still at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.