Back to work for Cone

MANILA, Philippines - Two-time Grand Slam coach Tim Cone will be back in the gym on Monday, starting work with Barangay Ginebra, his third PBA team after Alaska and Purefoods, and his focus will be to build a strong foundation from which to create chemistry and a championship tradition.

“We’ll get together on Monday,” said Cone. “Our goal will always be to get to the Finals and win a championship but prior to that, our focus will be to build a solid foundation. You can’t short-cut your way to a championship. There’s a process and that’s something we will be serious about.”

Leaving a championship nucleus first with Alaska then with Purefoods to jump into the fire with Ginebra has to be one of the major challenges in Cone’s career. He said it’s nothing new in a coach’s life.

“I’ve had so many challenges I don’t know where to start,” he said. “It seems as coaches that we are challenged everyday, that something goes wrong or there is a fire to put out somewhere. Recovering from 1993 after we had our worst year in history with Alaska, where I was put on notice that we had to turn things around or else. Then, we had our best year in history in 1994 and went on to win the Grand Slam two years later. Another was changing from one era to another after the Grand Slam core of Johnny (Abarrientos), Jojo (Lastimosa), Bong (Hawkins) and Poch (Juinio) was eventually let go and having to move on. Then, of course, leaving Alaska and moving to Purefoods. Moving to Ginebra will be up there as one of my greatest challenges. It will certainly be an adventure, one that I’m looking forward to and excited about.”

Cone said he was surprised of his appointment to Ginebra but took the assignment readily. “I didn’t see it coming,” he said. “My first thought was of the players and the fans. I didn’t want to leave them behind. The first person I called, of course, was my wife Cristina. She was in Leyte doing a charity function. She was more flabbergasted than me. I’ve not had the chance to talk to the (Star Hotshots) players. They were on break when I was informed of the change. I plan on meeting with them when they return to practice. My message will be, as always, about moving forward. I can’t tell you know incredibly proud I was that a number of fans were tweeting to keep me with Purefoods. That’s what makes this move so hard. The fans were incredible to me and the guys.”

But now that he’s on the Ginebra saddle, Cone said he’ll do what it takes to deliver. “Tempering expectations may be the biggest hurdle, not so much for myself, but for the players,” he said. “There are uncommon pressures that come with coaching and playing for Ginebra that playing for other teams don’t have. If the players are going to play at their maximum ability, they’ll have to be able to use the pressure properly. I think establishing chemistry is paramount for any team. The older players have to get along with the younger and the bigs have to get along with the smalls. It sounds simple but creating chemistry is one of the hardest things to do.”

Cone said his style won’t change with the shift to Ginebra and he’ll stick with the triangle offense that has been his trademark. “We’ll institute the triangle but we will also cater it to the strengths of the players,” he said. “The triangle is an incredibly versatile system that can emphasize a player’s strength. We’ve seen it through the years emphasizing a Jordan and a Pippen or a Shaq and a Kobe or a Pau. Tex Winter said it’s an equal opportunity offense in which the ball will gravitate to your best players. We want to utilize the strengths of our players.”

As for Ginebra center Greg Slaughter becoming a franchise player like San Miguel Beer’s JuneMar Fajardo, Cone hesitated to make a comparison. “I think talking Greg and JuneMar is talking apples and oranges,” he said. “They have very separate strengths and playing styles. What has impressed me about JuneMar is his ability to lead his team to championships, not MVPs. That’s how we want to measure Greg.”

Cone said he has no pre-conceived notions as to who will carry the torch for Ginebra on his watch. “That will depend on the players and who emerges,” he said. “I believe most everyone is signed to live contracts unlike in the Purefoods which has some nine expiring contracts. But that’s (governor and team manager) Alfrancis’ (Chua) territory so I won’t comment too much on that.”

Cone was tight-lipped on the players he’s thinking of tapping in the coming draft on Aug. 23. Ginebra has the No. 5 and No. 16 picks.