Unsinkable Cone still in swing of things

Alaska’s Tim Cone is the longest-serving active coach in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) but hardly shows the wear and tear of a career that started in 1989 as Bogs Adornado’s successor on the bench.

The boyish-looking Cone quietly turned 47 last week and doesn’t look a day over 35.

As Christmas approaches, there are many things occupying Cone’s mind. His priority is pushing Alaska to squeeze into the Magic 4 at the end of the Philippine Cup double-round classifications to gain a twice-to-beat advantage in the pre-quarterfinal wildcard phase. His other priority is to be involved in the country’s quest to regain its once lofty position in Asian hoops.

There’s another priority that’s not basketball-related. But Cone says his wife Cristina is taking care of that. The Cones are building a new home in Alabang Hills.

Cone was one of four candidates named by PBA commissioner Noli Eala for national coach. He says he wants to leave a legacy in Philippine basketball and plant the seeds for the future. If he’s not chosen, Cone is willing to assist the national coach in whatever capacity and share his experience in the 1998 Asian Games.

Cone is the only coach to pilot the Philippines to an Asiad medal in basketball since Robert Jaworski in 1990. He’s also the second winningest coach in PBA history behind Baby Dalupan.

What’s consuming Cone’s mind at the moment is rebuilding Alaska which he led to a grand slam in 1996.

Slowly, Cone has put the pieces together in restructuring Alaska’s foundations. Eight of his players are either rookies or sophomores. Don Allado, 27, is the only Ace who has played on the team since 1999.

Youth, however, isn’t the only factor in the rebuilding process. To stabilize the team, Cone brought back former mainstays Jeffrey Cariaso and Bong Hawkins who saw action on the ’96 grand slam squad. The reason for their return has a major bearing on what Cone has in mind for the future. Cariaso, 32, and Hawkins, 37, are the senior statesmen on whom Cone is relying to instill in the youngsters the Alaska spirit, the Uytengsu franchise’s winning tradition. Aside from Cariaso and Hawkins, the only other player over 30 in the roster is 7-foot E. J. Feihl.

Alaska’s court general is last year’s first overall draft pick Mike Cortez, 24. The other rising stars in the lineup are offguard Brandon Cablay, 26, and 6-7 center Sonny Thoss who turned 23 last Dec. 7.

From the woodwork, Allado has emerged as Cone’s anchor in the frontline.

"For years, Don was Robin to Ali Peek’s Batman," says Cone who groomed two former assistants Chot Reyes and Joel Banal to become PBA head coaches. "With Ali gone to Coca-Cola, Don is now the Batman. Now, he’s the go-to guy inside."

Allado is averaging 12.6 points in 14 games and has scored in double figures in his last nine outings where Alaska posted a 6-3 mark.

Cone’s big trade came four games into the conference last October. It was long in the works but Alaska’s 0-3 start probably hastened the deal.

The rumor was Peek wasn’t in the original package but Tigers coach Reyes insisted on the big man to fill the void in the middle. Reyes lost Rudy Hatfield who was named in the Department of Justice report on alleged Fil-Shams and Reynel Hugnatan who was part of the swap.

For Alaska, the light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter and brighter. The Aces won their last three assignments by an average of 14 points and two of their victims–Barangay Ginebra and Purefoods–are in the upper half of the league standings.

It’s no accident that Alaska started the roll with Cortez’ return from sick bay. Cortez sat out six games and is back with a vengeance.

Alaska (8-9) is in contention for fourth place and plays Sta. Lucia Realty in its final classification game on Jan. 5. The others in the race for the spot are San Miguel Beer (8-8), Purefoods (8-9) and Coca-Cola (7-10). If San Miguel sweeps its last two games against Barangay Ginebra and Red Bull, then the Beermen clinch fourth place regardless of how Alaska, Purefoods and Coca-Cola fare in their final contests.

The Tender Juicy Hotdogs play FedEx on Wednesday to finish their classification schedule. The Tigers battle FedEx on Jan. 5.

If there is a triple or quadruple tie for fourth spot, the two teams with the superior quotient play off to earn the twice-to-beat edge in the wildcard phase. The loser in the playoff drops to fifth place.

Cone says he likens Alaska’s progress to a golfer who has the perfect swing but is still working on the results.

"I think we’ve got the right swing," he adds. "We were struggling to get the Ws at the start but I like how the guys are maturing. We’re doing the right things and we’ve got the right approach. We’re getting there. I’m happy with our progress."