Barangay Ginebra import Justin Brownlee will try to lead the Kings to another crown. —AUGUST DELA CRUZ
Barangay Ginebra’s Joe Devance, LA Tenorio and coach Tim Cone have done this dance together a long time—the first time in the PBA Fiesta Cup in 2010.
Not that they remember it clearly.
“I’m not a guy who reminisces. So when you ask me those questions, I [have to] really think about it. I don’t think about it on a day-to-day basis,” said Cone, the architect behind two rare Grand Slams and 21 PBA championship runs.
“I’m all about moving forward: You move forward from defeats, you move forward from victories,” he added.
A refresh: The trio, still gathered at the Alaska camp, defeated San Miguel Beer in six games in that conference. It was the first of many crowns for Devance and Tenorio, and the 13th for Cone.
For the pair of cagers, the key memories of the journey were easier to fetch.
In fact, Devance remembers more clearly getting spanked by Purefoods in the season-opening tournament Finals that year, where the Aces got swept despite their lofty billing.
“It was the all-Filipino [and we] were, I think, favorites to win. We were actually playing well going into the Finals,” Devance told the Inquirer on Friday. “I remember just how bad we felt [after]. I felt so horrible that I took boxing [lessons] the whole time off.”
“I was a man on a mission [the next conference].”
Tenorio, meanwhile, remembered how the Aces got their bid going in that tournament.
“We had a slow start in that conference. We felt we weren’t making the playoffs,” he said. “Eventually, we got our rhythm.”
It’s been nearly a decade now since that run and the trio is at it again, this time facing nemesis of fairly recent memory.
Barangay Ginebra tangles with Meralco for the third time in four years aware that it will be squaring off against a team that is bent on finally slaying the Kings after two Finals losses.
And even as Meralco brandishes a roster revamped to plug leaks that led to those championship defeats—more ceiling with the acquisition of Raymond Almazan and more guard depth with shooter Allein Maliksi—Cone said his team also brings a few roster advancements, and more.
“We’ve changed personnel in terms of Stanley [Pringle] and Jared [Dillinger]. We still have the veteran presence of Joe and LA. [We have] a Greg [Slaughter] and a Japeth [Aguilar]. And of course, Justin [Brownlee].”
“There’s continuity but there’s the add-on of growth,” he said.
Devance and Tenorio, meanwhile, admitted they’re a little bit wiser than when they first battled for a title together.
“This time, it’s all about recovery and stuff,” Devance said. “It’s my being smart with my body … and getting my body right in recovery so I could help my team whatever way I can.”
“There have been weaknesses that [opponents] have uncovered, but my strength [is my] experience playing in the Finals,” Tenorio added.