Can Tim Cone work wonders for Barangay Ginebra, a team that has a storied history and one that fans follow with unbridled passion, but unfortunately has long been going downhill in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA)?
The two-time grand slam-winning coach Cone has taken over the Gin Kings in a bid to end an eight-year title drought for the league’s most popular ballclub.
The American, who is also the PBA’s all-time coaching leader with 18 championships, left Star after delivering a total of five titles and a grand slam – his second – to call the shots for the Gin Kings starting in the 41st season.
That’s a welcome news for their big legion of fans.
Despite boasting one of the league’s most loaded rosters, the Gin Kings continued to disappoint their fans, only going as far as the quarterfinals twice in the 40th season.
Just imagine, the team has an imposing lineup anchored on such excellent talents as Japeth Aguilar, Greg Slaughter, LA Tenorio, Marc Baracael, JayJay Helterbrand and Mark Caguioa.
Many believe that it’s not the players who are at fault for their misery, but rather the management’s chaotic system. In particular, the management can’t seem to make up its mind who to put in charge as coach, resulting in confusion, lack of cohesion and no discernible game-plan for every game.
Cone will be the Gin Kings’ fifth coach since the departure of now-Talk ‘N Text coach Jong Uichico in 2012.
In the last two years, the ballclub had five coaching changes. The head mentoring chores went from Alfrancis Chua, to Ato Agustin, to Jeffrey Cariaso, back to Agustin and then just before the Governors’ Cup, to Frankie Lim. Under deposed mentor Lim, who handled the job for just one conference, the team could only finish eighth in the 2015 PBA Governors’ Cup and was eventually eliminated by Alaska in the quarterfinals.
For the record, Ginebra has not won a title since the 2008 Fiesta Conference. Their last finals appearance was back in the 2013 Commissioner’s Cup where they got clobbered by Alaska.
And now that the team wants to climb back to relevance, Cone’s entry sure does spark new tons of expectations for them.
After a 21-year stint with Alaska where he made himself a household name after guiding the Aces to a league second-best 13 championships, Cone moved over to the Star franchise to win five trophies and surpass the legendary Baby Dalupan as the winningest coach in PBA history with a total of 18 titles.
Now that he will be the new leader of the league’s crowd-darlings, the brilliant chief tactician is aware that it wouldn’t be an easy task.
Cone will have the task of turning a talented, but dysfunctional and underachieving Ginebra squad into a credible championship contender.
Though he has got a lot of tools and talent to work on, Cone knows that it will take some time for him to find his niche with the Gin Kings as an adjustment period is inevitable, especially for a team that underwent coaching changes almost regularly in the past several seasons.
The multi-titled mentor is aware of the pressure of handling the most well-loved team in the history of the league.
Can Cone, the master of the triangle offense in the PBA, also apply the same system and will the elements of his triple-post philosophy work wonders for the Gin Kings?
It is now in Cone’s hands to steer the struggling Gin Kings back to the promised land. Their long suffering fans will definitely be on his side.