Two ‘Grand Slam’ titles with two different teams, a league record 19 PBA championships, and yet, it’s the losses that Barangay Ginebra San Miguel mentor Tim Cone really remembers.
Cone counts the latest setback as among the bitter moments.
This after the Kings suffered a 4-1 beating to a dominant San Miguel Beer side that completed another historic campaign as it won the PBA Philippine Cup for the third straight time to capture the ‘Emilio Bernardino Perpetual Trophy’ last Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“They overwhelmed us. It just showed how powerful they are,” said Cone following a 91-85 defeat in Game 5 of the finals. “We didn’t have any answers to them.”
The Kings tried everything.
“We tried to slow the game down, tried different ways, but we just couldn’t find a way to consistently give them problems, and they’re hitting their shots. They are a great shooting team,” said Cone.
“June Mar (Fajardo) is a great equalizer ‘cause you spend so much time giving attention to him and you lose the shooters. We tried to do both and couldn’t get either. That’s the problem.”
It was in 2014 after Cone steered former team San Mig Super Coffee (now Star) to the Grand Slam – the league’s version of a Triple Crown – when he was asked what his best moment was as a coach.
Cone pointed to his first Grand Slam with Alaska in 1996, and then that memorable moment when he surpassed the record of 15 titles of his idol Baby Dalupan with his 16th championship as San Mig ruled the 2014 Commissioner’s Cup.
That was when Cone mentioned that what he really remembers are the defeats he and his teams suffered – from his days with Alaska, his time with Star, and yes, with Ginebra.
“You always don’t like coming up short,” said Cone as Ginebra’s only win in the championship series came in Game 3 when the Kings edged the Beermen in overtime, 124-118, in Lucena City.
“You’re here… you want to put up a better fight than we did,” he said.
