Coach Tim Cone talks to the team after today’s session. Photo by Randolph Leongson
Left with only a day to adjust before Game 4 of the 2016 PBA Governors’ Cup Finals against Meralco, Ginebra coach Tim Cone opted to do a film session and engage his players with walkthroughs.
Twice in that Thursday afternoon session, he summoned Justin Brownlee and Sol Mercado to one-on-one sessions as he eyes to nitpick specific details regarding the game.
But Cone said that these instances aren’t out of the ordinary. “I always do that. It’s not a big deal.”
“I’ve always done one-on-one talks. It’s been my MO (modus operandi), especially in this series, I just want to make sure we’re on the same page,” he explained.
Cone shared that these sessions allow him to pick his players’ mind and make sure that they are all in sync.
“Sometimes, I’ll just bring my starting five, or sometimes its one-on-one or one-on-three and we will just talk and make sure we are on the same page. Most of it are encouraging stuff and making sure they understand on doing the right things. Sometimes, it’s about the things we need to focus on,” he said.
“Again, those talks are very routine. I do it all the time, I do it in the season, preseason, I meet everybody one-on-one, so I’m the one-on-one king.”
Though he refused to elaborate what he, Brownlee and Mercado talked about, it is evident that Cone wants to hammer home the idea of the team going back to its defensive exploits.
“We’ve been playing outside our identity. I think we need to get back to that. We need a little bit to be defensively-oriented, get back to moving the ball. We can’t be too reliant with Justin. He played awesome, he got 42 points but he needed 38 shots to get it, so it’s just too many. That kind of shut down everybody else,” he said.
Cone also believes that Brownlee and the locals understand the need for the team to unite to go back to the same system that has brought them to the championship series.
“I think Justin needs to try a little bit more and his teammates need to step up, that’s were at best. Justin obviously can score, he’s a great guy and everybody loves him, but we’re at our best when everybody’s involved on the floor, not just one. I think he understands that,” he said.
And it all boils down to what comes out of the meetings, as Cone expects a lot from his players come Friday.
“We need to get more team performance going on for Friday. I think we will be a lot better come Friday,” he vowed.