Tim Cone will be coaching in another PBA Finals game on Christmas Day and he hopes that the result will turn out much, much better this time around.
Although it has been two decades already, the league’s winningest mentor can never forget about the last time he figured in a December 25 championship bout, for it did not allow him to celebrate the annual festivities fully that night.
Cone and his Alaska lost to the Chot Reyes-led Coca-Cola, 78-63, in Game Four of the 2002 All-Filipino Cup best-of-five Finals at the Araneta Coliseum.
“I played a Finals Christmas game before, against Coke. We lost, and we lost the series. That was Game Five of a best-of-five, and we lost the championship on Christmas Day,” the 65-year-old recalled as if it was yesterday.
“I can’t even explain how difficult that was for me and the family. My family, especially. Talk about ruining Christmas,” he added with a chuckle.
Cone found himself entering another Christmas Finals offering as Ginebra reached the last dance of the 2022 Commissioner’s Cup after showing Magnolia the door in Game Four of the semis, 99-84, Wednesday night.
It will be the Kings’ return to the title bout of the mid-season joust since 2018, which they eventually won at the expense of San Miguel Beer in six.
Surely, they would want to replicate that feat, with their coach also looking to exorcise the ghost of Christmas past that haunted him 20 years ago.
But the good thing this time, according to Cone, is that it’s only the opener of their best-of-seven series against the mighty Bay Area — a series not expected by pundits and fans alike to be a short one as many braces for war.
“At least this is Game One, and you can recover,” the winner of a record 24 titles. offered. “I think we’re all excited about it.
“That’s one of the things we said at halftime — remember what we’re going for, we’re going for that Christmas Day game,” he furthered.
“So we’re pumped and glad we have a couple of days to rest and recover.”
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The second game of each PBA gameday is live-streamed on SMART Sports.
