Tim Cone moving to B-Meg soon?
The resignation of Tim Cone as head coach of Alaska was officially announced by the Uytengsu franchise last Thursday while the PBA board and the PBA press corps were in transit to Manila from Hong Kong where the season’s first planning session was held.
Word has it, however, that the Tim Cone saga in the PBA doesn’t necessarily end with his resignation from the Aces, who he coached for over 20 years.
It looks like the initial report I got from a PBA governor was not entirely accurate.
During the Alaska press conference at the Corinthian Plaza in Makati, Tim didn’t mention anything about coaching fatigue or wanting to try something new.
Everybody took this to mean that the 54-year-old coach must have been presented with an offer that was too attractive to resist—even if Tim and his employer, Alaska owner Fred Uytengsu, had been friends for the longest time and stuck it out with each other through thick and thin.
Everybody thinks Tim will still be in the PBA, if not immediately, perhaps after one conference.
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They’re saying that the multititled coach is likely to sign up with B-Meg Derby Ace, which is reported to have made an offer some weeks back.
Shortly after the offer, Tim resigned from Alaska. Resigned but not retired, as the PBA governor earlier told me. Just a few days earlier, Jorge Gallent was told to switch places with his assistant Richard Del Rosario in the B-Meg team.
Richard is now head coach while Gallent slid down to being his assistant. As B-Meg head coach, Richard will have to give up his head coaching job in a PBA D-league team.
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“Is Richard prepared for the big league?” I asked Derby Ace governor Rene Pardo moments after he made the announcement in Hong Kong. The PBA delegation was then having dinner at an Italian restaurant, compliments of JB Baylon, when the news came in from Manila.
“There’s only one way to find out,” Mang Pards replied.
At this point, some of us from the media speculated that Richard may have been placed in that position to fill the gap until Tim is ready to move in to what we believe is his new team.
How long the transition will be, no one knows for sure.
When we ask Mang Pards to confirm our suspicions, he just flashed a mysterious smile, not denying nor confirming.
From what the media were told, Noli Eala had initiated the piracy of Tim Cone.
Everybody thinks Eala has succeeded because he was rewarded by San Miguel Corp. president/CEO Ramon Ang with a bigger and more important position of SMC sports director.
Which goes without saying that the letter of complaint sent by NBN 4’s Snow Badua to Mr. Ang most likely found its way into the waste basket.
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Of course what I’ve just written are just assumptions by some members of the basketball community. There’s a strong possibility that the speculations could be absolutely erroneous.
Who knows, it could be Manny V. Pangilinan who’s interested in acquiring the services of the American coach, even if Tim Cone, Noli Eala and Robert Non were seen sharing a meal at a restaurant in Rockwell last Friday.