In 1990, Cone was a coaching upstart who led Alaska to its first Finals appearance against Purefoods. His adversary was the legendary maestro Virgilio (Baby) Dalupan. Cone was 32 and Dalupan, 66. In the end, experience prevailed over youth as Purefoods bagged the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Third Conference title via a 3-2 squeaker in the best-of-5 Finals.
Today, Cone is 44 – no longer an upstart. He’s taken Alaska to 10 championships. Like Dalupan, Cone is a former national coach – venerable, respected, and almost as legendary.
In the PBA Samsung Governors Cup Finals starting today, Alaska battles Purefoods. Cone faces youthful Ryan Gregorio in the battle of wits. Gregorio, 30, is in his first Finals – just like Cone was in 1990. This time, Cone is the veteran and Gregorio, the upstart. And the rivalry is a reprise of the 1990 matchup between Alaska and Purefoods.
What Cone likes about the déjà vu angle is in 1990, the veteran beat the upstart and now, the shoe’s on the other foot.
Making it to the Finals was a feat in itself for Alaska. During the eliminations, Cone confessed he didn’t think the Aces could win another game because "we weren’t good enough" and he told his players so. No way he imagined barging into the Finals. But when Alaska overcame the toughest of odds – only a six percent probability – to claim a twice-to-beat advantage in the quarters, Cone saw a glimmer of hope.
Last year, Alaska failed to play in the Finals for the first time since 1994. Gone were Johnny Abarrientos, Poch Juinio and Bong Hawkins. In came Ali Peek and John Arigo. The revamp brought fresh talent to Alaska which continued to be competitive but not yet of championship quality. So it came as a surprise to Cone that Alaska is back in the Finals so soon.
Cone said the Aces are a player away from being "as strong as our weakest link." It could be a solid three-player or a two-guard like a Mike Cortez or a thinking point guard like a Jimmy Alapag, he continued. "We’re not quite there yet," he mused. "Our situation is like how we were in 1995 when we got Jeffrey (Cariaso) – he was the extra player we needed to give us another threat."
In the Samsung Governors Cup, Cone said the two-import format conceals a team’s weaknesses and that’s why the competition has been topsy-turvy.
Cone said Gregorio has done "an awesome job" at Purefoods, "I was going over the conference results with (assistant coach) Jun (Reyes) and we noticed about eight of Purefoods’ 11 wins were from comebacks," continued Cone. "You’re lucky if you win three or four of 11 from comebacks – but eight is a tremendous feat. That shows you a lot of character, what shape they’re in, and the kind of import Derrick (Brown) is."
Cone said the team that plays its type of game will win the series. "If we allow Purefoods to play their game, we’re in big trouble," added Cone. "We’ve got to be careful with the basketball. We can’t underestimate Purefoods’ defense – they pressure well and can disrupt a lot of things we do. If we force them into turnovers and take away their open court opportunities, we’ve got a shot at it."
Cone said as usual, Alaska will focus on defense. "We’ve got to play outstanding defense," he stressed. "That means playing tough halfcourt defense and hustling back to prevent transition points. We want to sustain a tempo that we can control. We’ll take advantage of opportunities to run, too. It’s difficult to match Brown’s energy. He never wears down. We throw three to four defenders and we hope that in minute 30, he’ll lose his energy but that’s just when he’s starting. He just goes on and on."
Cone predicted an exciting series. "There’s no pressure on either team," he explained. "Purefoods has exceeded all expectations by making it to the Finals. Same as us. But we’ll scratch and claw every inch of the way, as we did in the eliminations to stay alive. That’s not going to change."
Cone singled out Jojo Lastimosa as the player who could be the key to Alaska winning the championship. "He wants this one – he hasn’t been to the Finals since he left us," Cone said. The coach also pointed to Don Allado and Arigo whom he described as national team quality impact players capable of turning a game around.
As of his imports, Cone said it’s a relief for James Head that his Mario Bennett nightmare is over and Ron Riley – his Mr. Steady – will be there to lead the troops to war.
Gregorio is more excited than nervous and said Alaska has the edge in a long series but Purefoods the advantage if it ends in four or five. That’s because the Tender Juicy Hot Dogs are relatively older, noted Gregorio.
"We can match up against them man to man," said Gregorio. "What I like in our team is there’s always somebody stepping up to the challenge. I’ve told all the guys that they should be ready to play anytime. I respect Alaska’s championship tradition. They were given up for dead and now they’re in the Finals. That says a lot about Tim’s team."
Gregorio insisted his is the hungrier team. "Alvin (Patrimonio) hasn’t won a title since 1997, Ronnie (Magsanoc) since 1992, and Derrick has never played on a championship team," he said. "I expect Alaska to play an ugly series – low-scoring, drag-out. But we’ll play high-octane basketball. We’ll run and get Derrick involved in the offense early. It will boil down to defensive stops. Alaska’s advantage is its perimeter game – they showed how to score against the zone in the San Miguel series."
Gregorio attributed Purefoods’ success to coach Eric Altamirano. "He built the foundations," said Gregorio. "There’s no pressure on us. I’m not taking credit for motivating the guys. They’re self-motivated. The guys know what it takes to win."
Gregorio said while Kelvin Price hurt his ankle at practice the other day, he won’t be replaced. "We’re sticking with Kelvin," he said. "He’s brought us to the Finals with his defense. In the Coca-Cola series, his block on (Ron) Hale in Game 5 decided the outcome. But he could help us even more if he scores 12 to 15 points a game."
Cone is a formidable opponent, said Gregorio, because the Alaska coach never quits and his team is so disciplined on defense. He learned a lot from Chot Reyes in the Coca-Cola series and he’s sure to learn a lot more from Cone in the Finals.