Tim Cone. PBA IMAGES
Once a fierce rival to the Ginebra side, coach Tim Cone now finds himself allies with the rowdy barangay.
And as he opens a new chapter in his already legendary coaching career, Cone is hoping to follow the footsteps done by another famed Ginebra coach of the past.
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“I think one of the reasons Sonny Jaworski was successful in coaching Ginebra that was that he took the pressure all by himself and kept the pressure away from the players. Because he’s such a polarizing figure, he could absorb all the pressures and his players could just go out and play. It’s a difficult thing to find that balance and not get overwhelmed,” he said.
“One of the great things of coming to Purefoods was following the legend of Baby Dalupan because I can say I coached on Baby Dalupan’s team. Now I’m going to Ginebra and I’m able to follow the legend of Sonny Jaworski. It’s such a motivating tool to think that I’m following the legend of Sonny.”
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Cone is also looking forward to get the boost of Ginebra’s sixth man, knowing that unlike his past two decades, the crowd will definitely on his side.
“I know that when we play Ginebra, we always felt that because of the great attention, this is where you make your name, this is where you want to play well. People will remember that because they will be watching,” he said. “There’s so much passion and desire on the floor. The time you want to shine is when you have the most attention, and that’s always a great motivating tool for the other teams. Our whole gameplan against Ginebra was to keep the crowd out of the game. Don’t let them get crazy. I had that with Purefoods, and it was exciting and a lot of fun. The crowd really helped you coach through momentum because the crowd gives you momentum.”
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“And now to do that with Ginebra? I’m really excited about that, on how can we let the crowd help us, create momentum for us. Coaching Ginebra brings a different pressure than other teams because of the social media and the close contact with the fans, the microscope you’re always under, the pressure the players are always under. They’re just a great motivating tool.”
Cone knows the pressure that comes with the job. He is just hoping that all of those long suffering fans can finally end their misery soon.
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“Once you’ve been there, the one thing you don’t wanna do is to let down the fans. Hopefully, we’ll handle it well and we can delight them at some point by getting into the Finals and winning a championship.” CFC