THE famed triangle offense of National coach Tim Cone was the talk of the town anew recently during the FIBA Asia Cup.
But not for good reason.
True-blue fans took the Gilas Pilipinas coach to task for still using the offensive scheme that yielded titles for Phil Jackson’s Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA before—and 25 crowns—to Cone’s legendary coaching career with Alaska, San Mig Coffee, and Ginebra in the pro league.
For Cone, the backlash was understandable after the Philippine five wound up seventh in the prestigious Asian cagefest in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
“I know people are complaining and upset about our triangle system and I just feel a couple of things. Number one, this is what I do best and what I’ve done throughout my whole career,” Cone said on the Power and Play program of former PBA Commissioner Noli Eala. “So, for me to go out and teach something that I don’t know doesn’t really make a lot of sense to me.
“Number two, when we were beating Latvia, nobody said anything about the triangle. When we were beating New Zealand, when we won the Asian Games, nobody was saying anything about the triangle and now, people are beating up the triangle again. It just seems to be a fad to be able to do that,” he added.
Cone admitted he is aware of the netizens’ criticisms and he is simply rolling with the punches.
“I read social media and I do it on purpose. I don’t mean to. I don’t like to do it. But I do it because I want to hear what people are saying, even though it’s difficult to read sometimes. But that’s the life pulse that I need to know,” Cone said. “Some people have really good suggestions. I follow these guys and I’m interested in what they say because I think it’s important to try to see what other people are saying.
“But it can be difficult sometimes, but you have to swallow some stuff. But that comes with the job.”
One thing’s certain—Cone will stick to his pet system.
“It’s a tough job. It’s a tough job mostly because it’s a critical position,” he said. “But I’ll continue to do it.”
The first round of the World Cup Asian qualifiers later this year should be Cone and the triangle’s chance for redemption.
