Ginebra coach Tim Cone. PBA Images

MANILA — Ginebra coach Tim Cone, who was visibly upset after an 89-95 loss to TNT in Game 1 of the PBA Commissioner's Cup Finals on Friday at the Mall of Asia Arena, admitted that his players were a "little bit confused out there" as he credited the defense of the Tropang Giga against Justin Brownlee and company.

Cone acknowledged that this championship round would be "a lot tougher than the last one," referring to their last face-off in the Finals, where TNT emerged victorious, 4-2.

"We have to understand that this is going to be a lot tougher series than it was the last one," Cone told reporters after the contest.

"We got a little bit confused out there, credit their defense. They [Tropang Giga] defended really well as usual."

Cone stressed that his wards should step up their defense, acknowledging that they made "too many defensive mistakes."

READ: PBA: RHJ fires 34 as TNT draws first blood vs Ginebra in Finals

In the series opener, the Tropang Giga converted a total of 14 triples on a 37 percent clip and only committed seven turnovers.

"We've gotta step up our defense. Well, we made way too many defensive mistakes," the PBA's winningest coach said.

READ: PBA: TNT's Hollis-Jefferson vows to keep getting better as Finals go on

Cone, after absorbing defeats in the Finals against his counterpart, coach Chot Reyes, aims to rewrite the story this time around.

"It's Game 1, alright. It's not what we wanted, but we'll deal with it and move forward," he said.

"I'm getting kind of tired of saying, 'We're outplayed, outcoached.' I'm getting tired of saying that," Cone said with emphasis. "So we gotta change the narrative."

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