It may take a while before Tim Cone can compare his latest PBA title to the ones he had throughout his legendary coaching career.

But regardless of where Barangay Ginebra San Miguel’s PBA Philippine Cup triumph which was pulled off under unique circumstances is ranked, Cone will forever describe it as a championship like no other.

“Right now, I’m getting hit by it. It’s a little surreal because the experience is so different,” Cone said shortly after Ginebra hoisted the Jun Bernardino Perpetual Trophy with an 82-78 win over TNT in the title-clinching Game 5 of the PBA Philippine Cup Finals Wednesday evening.

Cone may have won two Grand Slams and had other memorable title runs along the way, but this record-extending 23rd championship is something that he’ll remember for a very long time.

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The COVID-19 pandemic made things both difficult and satisfying for Ginebra, which had to deal with playing for two months under a bubble setup in Pampanga.

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With the PBA contingent being away from their loved ones and their movements limited at Quest Hotel and the Angeles University Foundation Sports and Cultural Center in Smart Clark Giga City, Cone said Ginebra had to do plenty of brainstorming in order to complete its road to glory.

“There was so much out-of-the-box thinking that had to go through in order to be successful here. I think you had to really think out of the box,” said Cone.

“So the experience is so different from the other championships you had. It’s so unique. When we get back to Manila and we look back on this one, I think we’ll just be amazed at how this evolved, how it all came together and how we exactly won this championship."

Ginebra overcame the late entry of Japeth Aguilar and the similar situation encountered by LA Tenorio who underwent appendectomy as Stanley Pringle almost carried the team to a 4-0 start, a run that eventually led to the league’s best record after the 32-day eliminations.

The only time Ginebra faced the prospect of going home early was in the semifinals when Meralco pushed them to a deciding fifth game and trailed midway in the third quarter, only for Scottie Thompson to play hero with his last-second three from the corner.

By the time the Finals began, Tenorio and Aguilar were back in form and Ginebra was able to finish the job.

Not even the absence of their legion of fans prevented the Kings from becoming the new rulers of the All-Filipino tourney, and possibly the only bubble champion provided things return to pre-pandemic conditions by the time the 46th season opens shop next year.

Cone certainly hopes that such would be the case.

“Hopefully, there’s gonna be one bubble championship. If there’s only one bubble championship, we got it. And that’s so cool,” he said.

“You know, 20-30 years from now, maybe when they look back and they say that bubble championship, they'll remember our team. We had the most unique championship in the history of the PBA. So it’s really cool,” added Cone.