Barangay Ginebra San Miguel paraded a star-studded squad when it battled Rain or Shine in the Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup late Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Although the Kings lost, 71-93, Elasto Painters coach Yeng Guiao believes that it’s just a matter of time before they will wake up from their slumber and dominate the midseason conference.
“Ginebra is an all-star team, especially with the addition of Jamie Malonzo who played really well,” said Guiao shortly after plucking his first win since returning as head coach of the Elasto Painters after a five-year stint with NLEX.
“They’re going to be scary in the future – and that future is like one week from now. It’s rare that you beat Ginebra in such a manner, beating them by 20-plus points.”
True enough, the Elasto Painters found the Kings napping on both ends.
The setback, in fact, was the Kings’ most lopsided loss since suffering a 92-119 defeat to TNT Tropang Giga in the previous Governors’ Cup.
The 71-point production is also the least among the Kings’ output with Justin Brownlee in the roster.
LA Tenorio came out flat while reigning Most Valuable Player Scottie Thompson struggled tremendously, missing all of his four shots from the field with his lone point coming from the charity stripe.
He also saw very limited action as Ginebra coach Tim Cone seemingly tried to preserve him for big games ahead.
Tenorio, on the other hand, had a night to forget, finishing with only two points on a sour 1-of-7 shooting from the field.
Still, Guiao believes that the Kings could easily get back on track, especially with a powerhouse lineup that has the athleticism, speed, outside shooting and experience in competing at a very high level.
Together with sharpshooter Von Pessumal, Malonzo joined the Kings in a three-team deal that saw them unload rising star Arvin Tolentino, Jeff Chan, Prince Caperal and Kent Salado.
“We caught a big fish,” Guiao said.
“But this is a rare night. Maybe we played well, maybe they played bad also.”
