Barangay Ginebra off to best start yet under Tim Cone

Barangay Ginebra is off to their best start yet since Tim Cone took over the coaching reigns this season after a 107-95 victory over Blackwater on Wednesday night.

The win gave the Gin Kings a 4-1 card heading to their match with San Miguel Beer on Sunday, providing a much-needed momentum as they go up against the defending champions of the Governors' Cup.

Ginebra is missing two starters in Greg Slaughter and Chris Ellis, who are both sidelined due to injuries, making their record all the more impressive in Cone's third conference with the team.

"Actually kulang pa nga kami ng mga players so good sign ito sa amin. Hopefully mag-dire-diretso," said veteran point guard LA Tenorio, who had with 23 points and five assists against the Elite.

The league's most popular ball club is looking to finally break a series of disappointing conferences since finishing runner-up to Alaska in the 2013 Commissioner's Cup.

After several coaching changes, the management brought in Cone, the winningest tactician in PBA history with 18 championship titles under his belt.

The 58-year-old mentor fell short in the first two conferences as Ginebra only reached the quarterfinals, but things seem to be looking up for the franchise in the final conference of the season.

The team is averaging 25.4 assists per game so far, a sign that Cone's triangle offense is finally clicking if not with a few changes. Against Blackwater, Ginebra had a conference-best 31 assists.

"We have a lot of talent e sa team namin. So kailangan lang talaga namin i-maximize 'yun by moving the ball well," Tenorio said.

The six-time All-Star is pleased that most of his teammates are involved in the offense and the team is defending well as a whole, but he said it is still too early for them to think about playing past the quarterfinals.

"I think one game at a time kami, step by step kami," he said. "We'll see what's gonna happen. Then hopefully, 'yun nga, makalampas kami sa hump na 'yun." — RSJ, GMA News