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Thursday, December 20, 2012

Frustrated Cone wants to see San Mig play with more urgency in Game Two By Richard Dy



“It’s just that we didn’t play the game with playoff intensity. That’s where the frustration was," says San Mig coach Tim Cone, who left the Big Dome without talking to the players after Game Two. Jerome Ascano
TIM Cone was so frustrated after San Mig Coffee’s 83-91 Game One loss to Rain or Shine on Wednesday night that he didn't bother to talk to the players inside the dugout and headed straight home.
The multi-titled coach was in a better mood after the Mixers' practice on Thursday morning, or at least in the mood to talk.
“It’s just that we didn’t play the game with playoff intensity. That’s where the frustration was," Cone toldSpin.ph as he poured out his frustrations over a game where the bigger and well-rested Mixers were outrebounded, outhustled, and outplayed by a Rain or Shine team coming off just a day's rest.
"But we expect a lot of improvement tomorrow (Friday),” Cone added.
Cone holed himself up with his staff to review the video and obviously found a lot of things wrong. But he said one of the main things he addressed during practice was their failure to execute their plays well.
“We didn’t do a good job executing in Game One. It was obvious from the video," Cone said. "So come Game Two, we want them to be more aggressive and play with a sense of urgency. We thought we could have played a lot better but we just didn’t.”
Relying on just one legitimate playmaker in Mark Barroca in the absence of regular starter Jonas Villanueva has also created problems for the Mixers, who also turned the ball over 16 times which led to 15 bonus points for the Elasto Painters.
Cone, who turned 55 last Dec. 14, said the team misses Villanueva, the team captain who is still recovering from a bout with dengue.
But Cone said he now expects Villanueva to be available for Game Three on Christmas Day.
“The target was for Jonas to play in Game Four. But he was able to do shooting drills this morning. So because of his activity, Christmas Day game is a possibility for Jonas,” said Cone.
Follow the writer on Twitter: @richava

source: http://www.spin.ph/sports/basketball/news/frustrated-cone-wants-to-see-mixers-play-with-more-urgency-in-game-two