COLUMBIAN Dyip may have bowed out of the PBA playoffs for the second straight conference.
Yet the team earned an instant fan in Barangay Ginebra champion coach Tim Cone.
Despite the no-bearing atmosphere of their Commissioner's Cup encounter Sunday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, the Kings and Dyip engaged in a toe-to-toe battle that was only decided after playing an extra five minutes and saw the league's most popular ballclub prevailing, 127-124.
Justine Brownlee was the man of the hour for Barangay Ginebra, scoring a new career-best 50 points including nine of the team's 14 points in overtime period.
But as impressive as Brownlee was, so was Columbian Dyip especially in the eyes of Cone.
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"They have guys out there who could really make shots. They are a lot, lot better than people give them credit for, they really are a dynamic team," said Cone in complementing the Dyip.
"They're a little bit thing and they're not as deep as the other teams. But once they built their depth, they're going to be very, very tough. Very tough. I was really impressed with their play."
The Dyip did give the Kings a huge scare and were on the brink of finally upsetting the only team they haven't beaten yet since entering the league in 2014 behind the explosion of import Lester Prosper in the final minute of the match.
But the Kings somehow willed their way to send the game into overtime as Stanley Pringle scored off an isolation play that tied the count at 113-all.
It was still a tight 123-123 game going to the final 45 seconds of the extension play until Brownlee and LA Tenorio took charge the clinch the win for Ginebra.
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"I tell you that team is a team of big-shot makers, they make big shots. Every time we make a little bit of a run, or we start to see if we can get some momentum or something like that, they come down and make some big shots," said Cone.
"Whether it be Prosper, or (Andreas) Cahilig or (Rashawn) McCharty especially CJ (Perez). They have guys out there who could really make shots."
The Kings ended their campaign with a 7-4 record and are seeded as the no. 4 team going to the playoffs.
The Dyip on the other hand, finished with a 3-8 mark and again missed the quarterfinals for the second consecutive conference by just a win or two.
But for Cone, the future is looking bright for Columbian Dyip.
"We play them as hard as we possibly could, and just barely beat them on a couple of Justine Brownlee tough shots. So hats off to them," said the Barangay Ginebra mentor. (RG)
