CONE EXPECTS TOUGH ROAD TO FINALS

(UPDATE) TIM Cone expects the road to the championship will only get tougher as Barangay Ginebra faces perennial powerhouse San Miguel Beer (SMB) in the PBA Philippine Cup best-of-seven semifinal series.

The Gin Kings reached the Final Four after disposing of the young Converge FiberXers, 88-80, in their quarterfinal duel on Friday.

The Beermen, on the other hand, made it to the semis following its dominant 108-97 win to dethrone Meralco.

"I think that's really been obvious [that] when they go all-Filipino, they are motivated, they are confident, and they play really tight together. That's really their best conference, obviously," said Cone, referring to SMB, which has ruled the All-Filipino in six of the last nine seasons.

And while the Gin Kings managed to hurdle the FiberXers' emerging big men in Justin Arana and Justine Baltazar behind veterans Japeth Aguilar, Troy Rosario and Jamie Malonzo, the American mentor noted the same can't be said when they face SMB due to June Mar Fajardo's presence.

The 6-10 Fajardo continues to be a towering presence for the Beermen as the pride of Cebu is poised to win what could be an unprecedented 12th Best Player award this conference.

However, Cone knows SMB's perennial dominance goes beyond just Fajardo, noting the presence of veterans led by Chris Ross and Marcio Lassiter.

"I don't see a lot of difference, honestly. I mean, Marcio's still there, Ross is still there, and those guys are such huge veterans. They know the game so well. They know each other. They know the team so well," said the PBA's all-time winningest coach.

"They're terrific leaders. I've had the experience of having them at the Asian Games, and I know what kind of leaders those guys are. We can't say enough good things about them."

Of course, the Beermen have upgraded their roster this season after acquiring 2021 PBA Most Improved Player Juami Tiongson in an offseason trade.

Nine-time champion Leo Austria is also back in the saddle when he took over from Jorge Gallent in the Commissioner's Cup.

The Ginebra-SMB semis begins next Wednesday.

2025-06-21T16:30:19Z