Cone careful about 'championship hangover' as Ginebra ends San Miguel's grandslam hopes

Barangay Ginebra San Miguel dominated the San Miguel Beermen on Wednesday, 104-84, to clinch another semifinals berth in the 2017 PBA Governors' Cup.

"You can't win a championship without going through San Miguel and if you're going through San Miguel, the best time to do it is when you have a twice to beat advantage," said Ginebra head coach Tim Cone. "It was the right time and the right place for us. I cant tell you how relieved I am that we don't have to play a knockout game with them."

Justin Brownlee exploded for 37 bug points, while Joe Devance chipped in 17. The Gin Kings also relied on their twin towers in Japeth Aguilar and Greg Slaughter, as the two scored 13 points each.

San Miguel, meanwhile, leaned on Terrence Watson for 30 points and June Mar Fajardo for 19.

Aside from the two, only Marcio Lassiter scored in double figures, as Alex Cabagnot and Arwind Santos were limited to a combined 14 points.

"I can't help but feel bad for San Miguel. They're a huge rival of ours. The only time I felt safe in the game was at 102-72. We were up 30 points with three minutes to go," Cone said. "We have great respect for them that's why we stayed so focused in the second half because they know how easy they can come back especially with their shooting."

Ginebra now awaits the winner of the knockout game between TNT and Rain or Shine.

"Looking ahead, TNT will handle just with ease and Rain or Shine is playing incredible basketball. It would be a tough game on Friday," Cone added.

The multi-titled head coach, however, wants to ensure that his players stay focused after beating a stacked San Miguel squad:

"We're going to send a message in the locker room that this was great, this was fine, we did a good job, but the job is not finished yet. We have to move forward and get ready for the next game. It almost has a championship feel to it; beating San Miguel is almost like winning a championship. But we gotta make sure we get over that so we don't have a "championship hangover" in the next series." — BAP, GMA News