GAME FRIDAY
(Mall of Asia Arena)
7:30 p.m. – TNT vs. Ginebra
THIS is not simply another Big Dance duel pitting the pro league’s winningest coach and a maligned but equally multi-titled counterpart.
For TNT tactician Chot Reyes, there’s so much more at stake in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup finals between his charges and Tim Cone’s Ginebra Kings—a lasting legacy.
“I think the more important thing is the legacy that we leave. Hopefully, we’re two coaches who are not only coaching for the victory of our respective teams,” Reyes said. “But to really leave a mark and a legacy on Philippine coaching.
“At the end, when all of this is said and done, hopefully, that’s something that we can both be proud of,” he added.
Cone agreed with Reyes, his former assistant at Alaska from late 1989 to 1992, who left and carved out his own coaching legend with 10 titles while Cone has 25.
“Chot and I would both agree that we’ve been rivals since he left Alaska. There’s always been that rivalry. We’re friends, but we also know we’re competitors, and we like to compete,” Cone said. “I think, irrespective of the teams we coach, we’ve always had great respect and really come out and compete with each other.”
Game 1 of the best-of-7 series is set for this Friday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
While familiarity will be a factor, it’s their troops and execution that will spell the big difference.
“We’ve been at each other for quite a while. We’ve coached against each other. We’ve coached with each other. Obviously, the familiarity is there. It’s hard to, you know, even with his assistant coach (and son) Josh is with me. Also with Gilas. So, he knows us inside and out and it’s just going to come down to execution,” Cone said.
Reyes said: “I agree with what Tim said. But more than the familiarity and more than the two of us as coaches, it’s really the players who are going to decide the series.
“I mean, we could make our adjustments here and there, but after a while, it’s really going to come down to who’s able to get it done on the floor. So, whether we’re familiar or not, I think the deciding factor is really what’s going to happen on the court.”
When the dust settles, Cone is hoping his team will get the better of TNT in this another chapter of their rivalry—something that is easier said than done.
“It doesn’t change through the years. So, in fact, it just continues to get heightened the more we go along,” he said. “I think the older we get. I think the more special these series become.
“So, you know, I know we’re both looking forward to it.”
