The end of an era

It is now official. After months of speculations, we finally have confirmation. The era of Tim Cone in Alaska is now over.

Before I go on, let me say that I have never been a fan of Cone. Not when his team was dominating the league in the late 90s; not when he failed to steer our centennial team in the Asians in 1998 to a gold medal by thinking that the triangle offense would work in international games; and definitely not when he's whining about every missed call against his team. But no one can deny how good of a coach and a mentor Cone is.

22 years, 13 titles, a grand slam and some of the greatest players ever. All that in Mr. Cone's resume.

But aside from all those accolades, there are but a few coaches in Philippine basketball history that will forever have a connection with a certain team. You have Baby Dalupan to Crispa, Dante Silverio to Toyota, Robert Jaworski Sr. to Ginebra and of course Cone to Alaska. Nowadays, with coaches jumping from one team to another, it's going to be pretty hard for coaches to create an identity to a certain franchise. Despite arguably being better coaches, there's no way these people can duplicate the impact that Cone had in his team. Chot Reyes? Moved from one team to another, never really built a legacy on a team despite being one of the most brilliant minds in league history. Ron Jacobs? Never really lasted long in the league to mark an identity towards a team. Yeng Guiao? He almost did it with the Red Bull-Photokina franchise but thanks to management issues, had to jump ships too. Jong Uichico? Please.

The point is, in the present context, there is only one person who had a bigger impact to the league and who drew more reactions left and right from the crowd while sitting on the bench. That guy's name is Sonny Jaworski, aka the most popular sports personality in the Philippines. But whether or not Ginebra fans would admit it, Cone is actually not that far-off from what Jawo has contributed to the PBA while sitting on the sidelines.

Cone, much like the Big J, is one of the most polarizing characters in PBA coaching history. He'll forever be known as the "evil mastermind" of Alaska's dominance in the late 90s by the fans of other teams while to the Alaska faithful, he'll always be one of the most loved characters in the PBA. He will always be remembered as one of the most colorful personalities in the sidelines with his antics and reactions to calls and non-calls of the referees – Alaska fans call it as passion while opposing fans, such as myself, call it whining. That is the kind of impact that Cone had in this league. The reactions from the crowd, the players produced, the championships and a team called the Alaska Aces (or Milkmen in the 90s)

Coaches of today can be remembered as brilliant tacticians and better mentors, but none of them could replicate what Cone (and the three other guys I've mentioned above) did, and that is actually building a team with their names as foundations.

Now that Cone is all but a colorful mark in Philippine basketball history, what happens next?

To the Uytengsu franchise, expecting Alaska to struggle in finding a new identity is the most logical conclusion to this matter. I concede that Joel Banal is one of the best coaches that we have today, known for steering the Ateneo Blue Eagles to a championship in 2002 and the Talk and Text Phonepals to a title a year later. But it is imperative to point out that as good as Joel Banal is, there is going to be a huge hole for him to fill. Will he continue Cone's patented triangle system? Will he apply a new one? How about his relationship with the players? With the franchise? With all of those questions, it could only lead to one logical conclusion, there will be a struggle when it comes to finding a new identity especially after a sudden change of environment in the locker room.

Is Banal ready to take on the challenge that is presented by the situation? Capability-wise, of course he can. But there is one thing that Banal cannot automatically fill in. And that is the 22 years of a working and winning relationship that Cone and the Alaska franchise built.

To the league? I am actually very happy that Cone didn't take the vacant coaching stint in B-Meg. It only goes to show one thing, that despite all of the issues between him and the management, there is still courtesy to the team that he once built. Seeing Cone handle B-Meg can be compared to watching Jaworski coaching Air21. It just isn't right. How is that actually a loss for the league? As I've mentioned above, there is no coach in the PBA today who has actually lasted longer and has built a connection to the franchise that Cone had. With him retiring, those breeds are now officially extinct.

So pull out the red carpet, polish the commemorative plaque and call out the media. If Tim Cone is finally walking away from coaching professionally in the PBA, which I hope he would be doing, then maybe it's time to give this man the credit he deserves and put him up there in the PBA hall of fame.

Not because of the titles nor the players produced. But for the identity and the relationship that he built upon his team, which will have a lasting impact to Philippine basketball. (CJ)