PBA: Tools there but lot of work left for Ginebra

Coach Tim Cone had a lot of takeaways after seeing his new-look Barangay Ginebra squad play for the first time since a busy offseason aimed at getting back into the championship picture.

“The biggest message we got is that we have a lot of work ahead of us,” Cone told the Inquirer a day after the Gin Kings edged out the New Taipei Kings, 91-87, in an exhibition held in Macau.

“It was a very uneven performance for us, despite the win,” added Cone after the Macau International Basketball Challenge, a one-off match Ginebra participated in as part of its final buildup for the season-opening Governors’ Cup.

It’s obvious that Ginebra is far from what Cone wants to envision down the road, with import Justin Brownlee still in Indonesia to play for Pelita Jaya in the Indonesian Basketball League Finals and key players Scottie Thompson and Jamie Malonzo continuing to recover from injuries.

‘No surprises there’

But the game against the Kings, who were likewise shorthanded with former NBA standout Jeremy Lin absent and a roster far from the one that won Taiwan’s P. League+ title and competed in the East Asia Super League Final Four, served as a chance to break in their new additions.

Stephen Holt and Isaac Go donned the Ginebra jersey for the first time since being dealt from Terrafirma in exchange for Christian Standhardinger and Stanley Pringle and gave glimpses of what the Ginebra faithful could see during the season.

RJ Abarrientos, a part of that trade via a pick swap with Terrafirma on the eve of the PBA Rookie Draft, came through along with Holt during the closing stretch of the contest that allowed Ginebra to gain bragging rights over New Taipei.

Cone was impressed by Abarrientos, the nephew of his former Alaska star, 1996 PBA Most Valuable Player Johnny.

And he was not the only Ginebra pick that made good of his minutes as Paul Garcia also provided quality play, especially in the fourth quarter. Garcia was chosen in the third round out of Ateneo.

“The collective work ethic of the four guys are unquestioned and that will go a long way,” Cone said of Holt, Go, Abarrientos and Garcia. “Needless to say, RJ was as good as advertised. No surprises there.”

Ginebra is looking to rebound after going empty-handed in the 2023-24 campaign, marking the first time in Cone’s tenure that the league’s most popular ballclub didn’t win a title in a season.

The Gin Kings were eliminated both times in the semifinals, by the eventual champions San Miguel Beermen and Meralco Bolts in the Commissioner’s Cup Philippine Cup, respectively.

Holt and Abarrientos are seen as upgrades in the backcourt position to help out Thompson and other holdovers.