EDITORS DESK
There was no suspicion, fear, or the slightest of tactless demeanor from the ultra-sensitive basketball devotees when Tim Cone was announced as the Gilas Pilipinas head coach for the hectic FIBA cycle.
Under his impressive portfolio, Cone is a 25-time PBA champion coach and twice the leader of a Grand Slam team with Alaska in 1996, and the other with San Mig Coffee in 2014.
Also making him the outstanding choice as the squad's brain and function is his current position as Barangay Ginebra's top man on the sidelines. The Gin Kings, one of the most successful franchises in the PBA, enjoy the abundance of love and admiration from the majority of Filipino fans — a liking that is hoped to reconnect the faith of the general public to the future campaigns of our very own national team.
But a visit to Ginebra's practice one Monday morning gave a refreshing perspective on how this American coach and his handpicked 12-man roster led by Justin Brownlee could actually bring the squad to greater heights after an Asian Games triumph last year in Hangzhou, China.
On the team's first training session since getting bludgeoned in what was advertised as a colossal semis matchup against the San Miguel Beermen, the Gin Kings welcomed back resident import Brownlee, who had his first feel of local practice after serving a three-month suspension from FIBA due to a failed doping test.
With a dozen players and the same number of coaches and utilities in attendance, he was greeted, embraced and hailed like a true rock star. It was a profound celebration, at the very least, with Brownlee having served as the hard-nosed lieutenant during a six-title conquest in the big league.
Then, there was pure bliss seeing the man doing his craft in the most uninterrupted way possible. Cone, like a conductor to a big opera, waves and whistles through the rounds of basic drills and the more delicate plays out of his genius mind. The cagers were huffing and puffing, but knew they were far more blessed to be running out of oxygen but under the spell of brilliance of such an esteemed coach — the winningest one in PBA history.
An in-shape Brownlee then connected with his usual jumpers during the back-and-forth routines, but what was more impressive was his shooting spree afterwards. He stayed for 30 more minutes and fired triples after triples, pull-ups from different angles, with his touch and finesse truly a gem to watch.
Heading to the dugout and to Cone's private room, he was surely ecstatic to have his trusted player back, not only with Ginebra but also with the Gilas fold as a naturalized player.
“I’ve had him (with Ginebra) for the last seven years, so he knows me inside and out, and I know him inside and out, so there’s always a comfort level when we come together and play,” Cone said. "Justin is like my comfort blanket."
In these words, Gilas could magnify the partnership between the coach and his best man, a connection that could make a difference in multitudes of ways.
Here, Cone knows how to tame a dragon, and set him off for utter destruction. It was evident in Hangzhou, when Brownlee wreaked havoc and broke the hearts of the Chinese in the semis, and also continued with his potent offense in the finals against Jordan which ended a 61-year wait for an Asiad win.
This bond could also grow and spring to more meaningful results with the 11 other players on board. Cone, the talented that he is, can pinpoint the X's and O's, make Gilas a stronger, cohesive unit, under the watch of one respected individual.
This year, Gilas shoots for the moon when it guns for a Paris Games spot through an Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Latvia, and possibly a Los Angeles Games berth in four years. The national team begins its training camp on Thursday, Feb. 15, right on Manila Bulletin's Newsmakers of the Year awards night where it is supposed to receive the trophy and bask in the glory of a resounding success in last year's continental showpiece.
(Ramon Rafael C. Bonilla is the Sports Editor of Manila Bulletin.)