MANILA, Philippines — Ginebra coach Tim Cone didn’t look too happy even as the Gin Kings began to get back into rhythm after a win over NorthPort on Sunday.
Ginebra moved up to third place in the standings with a score of 5-3 after a rocky start to the match. PBA Philippine Cup.
But Cone can’t afford to feel relieved after one of his key cogs, Jamie Malonzo, went down with an injury with just a few ticks remaining. The injury is a major blow to the Gin Kings’ campaign having already missed the services of Jeremiah Gray.
SCHEDULE: 2024 PBA Philippine Cup
“Our thing was to see Miah and Jamie play together and see what kind of music they could play together. This was our big project this year. So what’s going on? said Cone, following his team’s Victory 95-88.
“Miah gets the ACL and Jamie might be out and now we don’t have either of them. It used to be a deep position for us and now it’s pretty thin.
After dropping 14 points, six rebounds and four assists in 37 minutes in Sunday’s close game, Malonzo was injured after running to the basket in the final seconds of the game.
Malonzo held his left leg in the process, much like he did when he was injured during their semifinal series against San Miguel in the previous conference.
READ: PBA: Ginebra wins but loses Jamie Malonzo to injury in the final seconds
Gray, on the other hand, is still recovering from a torn ACL he suffered during the preseason in July last year.
Fortunately for Ginebra, their young talents are emerging at the most opportune time, with Ralph Cu showing tremendous promise.
“If we can continue to get those kinds of plays from Ralph, that’s what we’re talking about with the next man up.” Maybe now Sydney (Onwubere) will have to step up, Stanley (Pringle) should step up again, these are positions that need to be filled if Jamie is not ready to go.
Cu had a near triple-double of 24 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists in its win over NorthPort.
Ginebra will face TNT next Friday at the Philsports Arena.