Barangay Ginebra coach Tim Cone during the PBA Philippine Cup semifinals Game 5 against San Miguel Beermen. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines—Barangay Ginebra coach Tim Cone was the first to call out his Gin Kings for faltering late in Game 5 of the PBA Philippine Cup semifinals.
The Beermen took a crucial 3-2 lead over the Gin Kings in their best-of-seven series, with a 103-92 win in Game 5.
LIVE: 2025 PBA Philippine Cup Semifinals – Game 5 – July 4
While it didn’t reflect in the final score, the game could’ve gone either way until the dying minutes and Cone knew that all too well.
“Sayang (too bad), I thought we had a chance to win tonight,” said the veteran tactician.
‘I THOUGHT WE HAD A CHANCE TO WIN TONIGHT’
Coach Tim Cone talks about Barangay Ginebra’s late game collapse at the hands of San Miguel Beer in Game 5. | @MeloFuertesINQ pic.twitter.com/RJYElMawZ6
— INQUIRER Sports (@INQUIRERSports) July 4, 2025
“I did think it’d go down the wire and we’d have a chance to win, but we made a couple of three or four crucial errors at the wrong time, which led them to stretch the lead down the stretch.”
Ginebra was within striking distance late in the fourth at 90-88, but the Gin Kings made costly defensive errors that allowed San Miguel Beer to pull away.
READ: PBA: San Miguel nears Philippine Cup finals, outlasts Ginebra in Game 5
It also didn’t help that Ginebra couldn’t get going offensively, five games in.
“We still couldn’t get a good shooting night in this series. We have not shot the ball well and I’m hoping that comes around at some point—maybe Sunday, we’ll see,” Cone said.
Barangay Ginebra shot just 37 percent from the field and struggled from the charity stripe, missing nine of their 34 free throw attemps.
Despite trailing 3-2, Cone remained optimistic of the Gin Kings’ chance and emphasized that the series is far from over.
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“The old cliché says it takes four to win. It doesn’t take three. It’s not a five-game series, it’s a seven-game series,” he said.
Cone and the Gin Kings try to push the series to a Game 7 when they take on the Beermen on Sunday at the same venue.