Barangay Ginebra San Miguel coach Tim Cone took responsibility for his team's failure to stay alive in the PBA Philippine Cup semi-finals after Saturday's100-94 loss to defending champion San Miguel at the Cuneta Astrodome.
The Kings blew a 12-point first half lead and saw their fourth quarter rally go to waste when Alex Cabagnot hit a pair of baskets in the final three minutes that secured the Beermen's 4-1 series victory and a fourth straight trip to the finals of the season's first conference.
"I'm angry that I didn't do enough for them," Cone said. "We couldn't win some of the games we should have won down the stretch. But you know, those things happen. So I'll be angry at myself and I'll be real proud of our guys."
Despite the decisive outcome of the series, Ginebra gave San Miguel everything it can handle despite missing the 7-foot center Greg Slaughter due to an ankle injury.
Kia discard Prince Caperal became the unlikely replacement for Slaughter after firing 26 and 12 points in Games 2 and 3, respectively, and giving San Miguel star center June Mar Fajardo fits down low.
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Japeth Aguilar was the team's highest scorer in the five semi-final games with an average of 26.6 points while Scottie Thompson showcased his usual activity on both ends highlighted by his 10-point, 16-rebound, 16-assist numbers in a losing effort in Game 5.
But the Kings failed to protect the big leads when it mattered. The most crushing came in Game 2 when the Beermen escaped with a 104-102 overtime victory after being down by 15 in the first half and four going into the final minute of the extension.
Ginebra finished fourth in the eliminations, clinching the spot with a triple-overtime victory over Rain or Shine. The Kings later swept the Elasto Painters in the quarterfinals before the Beermen derailed their journey. (JT)
