Tim Cone gave his assurance that Christian Standhardinger and Scottie Thompson are fine after they missed a significant portion of Barangay Ginebra’s PBA Philippine Cup elimination match against NLEX.

Cone stated that he rested his two starting players only to give the other Kings the opportunity to play and prepare for the postseason.

The 6-foot-8 Fil-German and the former MVP vanished from the Kings’ 76-72 defeat to the Road Warriors on Sunday at Ninoy Aquino Stadium, forcing Cone to emphasize the point.

With 7:08 remaining in the game and Ginebra down, 73-61, Standhardinger was finally taken out of the game by Cone, while Thompson, who had been substituted late in the third quarter, did not play during the fourth quarter.

Rather, Cone went with Japeth Aguilar, Stanley Pringle, Maverick Ahanmisi, and Ralph Cu, switching between Von Pessumal and Nards Pinto as the Kings attempted a late rally that ultimately failed.

Thompson only had four points, six rebounds, and six assists, while Standhardinger led the team with 19 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists.

The Kings had a balanced scoring line that included Aguilar with 15 points, Ahanmisi with 14, Pringle with 9, and Cu with 5, eight rebounds, and five assists.

Standhardinger and Thompson were able to get some rest and recuperate in time for the playoffs thanks to the transfer.

Despite having a twice-to-beat advantage, the second-seeded Kings do need to be healthy because they will face the No. 7 and fierce foe Magnolia Hotshots in the quarterfinals.