Cone still has taste for more triumphs

TIM CONE’S Grand Slam squad will defend its three crowns with a new, but familiar name: Purefoods Star Hotshots. NIÑO JESUS ORBETA

“ANYONE can win a championship.”

Purefoods coach Tim Cone believes that every season, every start of a new conference, a championship race is always an open race.

“Things can all fall into place for you. You start playing the game well at the right time. Maybe you come into the playoffs at a high. You streak through the playoffs and win a championship,” he said.

People might think that Cone, the league’s most decorated tactician, can say such things because he has already won a lot—18 championships to be exact.

But for the American strategist, it’s an honest-to-goodness statement.

“What’s more difficult is sustaining success. Success prevents you from having more success often times,” he said.

TIM Cone hopes to be cradling more trophies this season.

Grand Slam

And coming on the heels of a successful season which saw him steer the San Mig Super Coffee Mixers to their 13th franchise title, a Grand Slam, and a four-peat, people are wondering if Cone and his wards still have the drive to compete at a high level, especially now when every single team in the PBA is looking forward to being the one that will topple the champs.

For Cone, it isn’t even a question. If it is possible, every single game the team will play will end up with a chalk mark in the W column.

“The taste of winning never gets old. You always want to win. No one looks around and says, ‘Boy, I wish I could lose tomorrow,’” he said.

“Losing gets old in a hurry. That’s one of the things, I think, that keeps me pushing because you want to stay away from that losing as much as you can.”

And days before the start of the 40th season of the PBA, Cone will once again prepare to wrap his head around a 10-month journey where he will be expected to replicate the success he has achieved last year.

With his team, now renamed Purefoods Star Hotshots, virtually intact, the biggest challenge for Cone is to keep his players motivated and growing as they embark on a new journey this season.

“I think life is always about growing. You’re always looking to grow,” he said. “I’d hate to think that I’m the same coach I was 10 years ago. I’d like to think that I’ve grown and become better.”

“I’d like to think that I’ve become better this year than last year, that I’ve learned some things in the Grand Slam last year that I could bring this year,” said Cone. “I think there’s a natural progression from the time when you start. You are constantly growing, constantly learning.”