Time Cone and Ramon Ang. RYAN LEAGOGO/INQUIRER.net
With his appointment as the head coach of Ginebra, Tim Cone carries heavy expectations from the diehard fans longing for a championship.
Though Cone is clear in saying that turning Ginebra’s fortunes around is a process, winning the championship is just one of the few feats expected of him.
SMC President Ramon S. Ang, actually, hopes for something bigger.
READ: Cone’s move to Ginebra answer to fans’ clamor, says Ang
Flashback to the 2014 PBA Press Corps Awards night where Cone was given his third Coach of the Year plum and Ang was named as the Executive of the Year, the SMC head honcho gave praise to the American coach after steering the San Mig Super Coffee to a Grand Slam season.
“Tim, you’re the best coach I’ve seen in my life,” said Ang. “What’s important is not just winning, but being able to provide a good game, and playing an honest game without hurting anybody.”
He then ended his speech wishing Cone well, saying, “I hope you win another Grand Slam.”
READ: Cone sees Ginebra bigs thriving in triangle
Fast forward to a year later, and Cone could make that wish come true for the Gin Kings crew who have been deprived of the crown since the 2008 Fiesta Conference.
With that, Cone is surely the man for the job. The facts speak for itself: Cone is the league’s winningest coach with 18 titles, and is the only mentor to lead two teams to Grand Slam seasons: Alaska in 1996 and San Mig Coffee in 2014.
READ: Ginebra coach Tim Cone wants to temper grand expectations
With this Ginebra stint, which just made Cone the Gin Kings’ fifth coach since 2012, he can also achieve the feat of winning a championship in three different franchises only done by only six individuals before: his idol Baby Dalupan, Tommy Manotoc, Norman Black, Chot Reyes, Yeng Guiao, and Jong Uichico.
It will not be an easy task, but Cone is welcoming another challenge to his already-storied coaching career.
But can he accomplish what his boss hoped him to once again achieve?