PBA: Tim Cone rues 'frustrating night' after ejection in Ginebra's loss to Phoenix

Almost nothing went Barangay Ginebra's way on Sunday and head coach Tim Cone made no attempt hiding his frustration after they bowed to Phoenix, 81-78, in their PBA Season 50 Governors' Cup opener.

Cone's emotions boiled over with 1:07 left in the fourth quarter when he was assessed his second technical foul of the game, triggering an automatic ejection.

The multi-titled mentor admitted his frustrations spilled over toward the referees, while also acknowledging that the Gin Kings simply did not play well enough throughout the contest.

"It was a difficult night altogether. Very frustrating. It was a frustrating night in many, many respects. The way we started the game," Cone said.

"We battled back, and then every time we battled back, we ran into weird calls. It spilled out to the referees, but the bottom line is we didn’t play well."

Ginebra was playing with a depleted roster with Scottie Thompson expected to miss the first few weeks of the conference due to a left hamstring injury that also kept him out of Gilas Pilipinas' run in the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers earlier this month.

Ginebra was also forced to look for another reinforcement to replace Justin Brownlee. The resident Gin Kings import is still nursing a number of injuries — right hamstring strain, right peroneal tendinopathy, and left knee swelling with cartilage defects — that he sustained after Gilas' game against New Zealand.

Brownlee's replacement, Riley Grigsby, made an immediate impact in his PBA debut, erupting for 42 points, 13 rebounds, two steals, and a block. He also scored Ginebra's final eight points to spearhead a late comeback bid that ultimately fell short.

The Gin Kings, however, struggled to get enough production from their local crew with no Filipino player reaching double figures.

Jeremiah Gray finished with nine points while RJ Abarrientos chipped in eight points, five rebounds, and four assists in the narrow defeat.

"I came back with only three practices. That’s why I think our bench players were so much better than our starters," Cone added.

"Hopefully, that will help turn things around for us. But it was a really frustrating night. The way we played and the referees."

—JMB, GMA News