Barangay Ginebra San Miguel coach Tim Cone is confident that his former pupil Jeffrey Cariaso can turn things around despite a 0-2 start as coach of the Alaska Aces.
Cariaso found out the hard way why the Aces are still a work in progress after being clobbered 102-83 by Cone and the Kings last Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The former PBA All-Star, who succeeded Alex Compton before the start of the PBA Governors’ Cup, was given a rude welcome two nights earlier when Alaska fell 117-110 to Columbian at the Mall of Asia Arena.
“I think it’s gonna take time to kinda mold this together and for guys to figure out what he wants,” Cone said of Cariaso, who previously had a two-conference stint as Ginebra coach from 2014 to 2015.
“I know how that is. You come into a new team and it’s tough in the beginning. It’s tough to get going. It’s tough to get everybody on the same page, especially if you’re kinda adjusting the system from what they were playing before,” Cone added.
Cariaso had two stints as a player under Cone with Alaska from 1995 to 1996 and 2004 to 2010, winning six championships. He also served as one of the American mentor’s assistant when San Mig Super Coffee completed the 2014 Grand Slam.
Cone is confident Cariaso can follow the footsteps of his former players Johnedel Cardel of Columbian and Aris Dimaunahan of Blackwater, who are slowly finding their niches as PBA coaches.
“John John (Cardel) is coaching great, Aris had a tremendous conference last conference. And I think Jeff is going to go in line with that,” said Cone.
Told of Cone’s compliments, Cariaso said he understands that it will take time before producing a winning team.
“Everything’s a process, right? This is new like what, one month? Two games under my belt, diba? So very young pa tayo, very young with regards to our head coaching stint, us being together as a team, trying to improve the culture that we have on the team,” Cariaso said.
“So we’re just staying positive, we’re just staying the course and then keep moving,” he added.
Alaska tries to avoid a third consecutive loss Sunday when it battles San Miguel Beer at the City of Sta. Rosa Multi-Purpose Complex in Laguna. (Jonas Terrado)
