TIM Cone has said, rather unflappably, that he’d cheer against Magnolia today. Cone refers to the game between Magnolia and Rain or Shine in Wednesday’s second match of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner’s Cup elimination series.
Umm.
That’s definitely an odd stance, if not a downright break from filial affinity.
For, aren’t Cone and Chito Victolero siblings, figuratively speaking? Aren’t they coaching the same patch of cloth—Cone for Barangay Ginebra and Victolero Magnolia?
But Cone qualifies.
He’ll be turning his back on sisterhood if Ginebra goes on to beat Converge in Wednesday’s Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) opener. It’s a coveted result for the league’s winningest coach to pocket the sought-after twice-to-beat gift going to the next round.
“We’ll cheer for Yeng [Guiao] and cheer against our sister team if that’s the case,” Cone told the Inquirer’s Denison Rey A. Dalupang.
There was not a tinge of joke in it.
“We’ll be cheering loudly against our sister team if we’re able to beat Converge,” Cone said.
He was just again trying to amplify the essence of the saying, “Winning isn’t just everything, it is the only thing.”
Magnolia took a firm grip of the bonus battle following its weekend rout of Meralco for a 9-2 card. That’s a game clear from the chasing pair of Ginebra and Converge (8-3 each).
“We’re just happy we will have something to fight for at this point,” said Cone, wary of Converge’s upset-making run behind Coach Aldin Ayo’s inventive approach to coaching. “We’ll hopefully come out with a win.”
But as Cone continues to plod the path to PBA glory, not Chot Reyes. Reyes is, of course, the Gilas head coach—with Cone as Reyes’s chief assistant.
Sadly, Reyes is now out of the Commissioner’s Cup as his TNT has been ousted—a first for Tropang Giga since 2018—after it lost to San Miguel Beer last weekend.
There’s a lesson learned in Reyes bowing out: One can never serve two masters at the same time.
Reyes can now focus solely on Gilas Pilipinas’ preparation for the Fiba World Cup next year. Sure shot.
THAT’S IT Saudi Arabia, seeded second-to-last among 34 teams, upsetting third-ranked Argentina in the ongoing Qatar World Cup remains the hottest piece of cocktails conversation. But is it true each of the 23 Saudi players will get a Rolls Royce Phantom from Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman? If true, that’s US$437,596.50 (P24,759,209.97) per car. Whew!
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