Major changes have already taken place within San Miguel, yet the team remains the same, as far as Ginebra head coach Tim Cone is concerned.
In a sense that the Beermen stay as one of, if not the most, dreaded teams in the PBA, most especially when a season shifts into the Philippine Cup.
“I think that’s really been obvious,” the league’s most successful mentor offered.
“When they go all-Filipino, they are motivated, they are confident, and they play really tight together. That’s really their best conference, obviously.”
Cone said as much on Friday night, shortly after the Kings set up a semifinal showdown with their long-time rivals by using their win-once incentive to oust Converge, 88-80, in the PBA Season 49 Philippine Cup quarters.
It would be the SMC teams’ second semis clash since the season-opening Governors’ Cup, which saw the crowd darlings finish SMB in six and eventually settle for a runner-up finish behind Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and TNT.
At that time, Ginebra took on a team that still had Jorge Gallent as head coach, and a lineup featuring Terrence Romeo and Vic Manuel.
But San Miguel would undergo a shake-up not long after. About a month after losing that best-of-7 series, both the aging stars were traded tio Terrafirma in exchange for Juami Tiongson and Andreas Cahilig in a two-for-two swap.
And while in the middle of the Commissioner’s Cup, the team reappointed Leo Austria as head coach, with Gallent sliding down to a consultant role.
The Beermen ultimately failed to reach the playoffs of that conference, but now they’ve bounced back impressively in the season-ending tilt–in fact, they were the very first to reach the Final Four after dethroning Meralco.
Perhaps for Cone, it was just a recalibration of sorts for their fellow traditional contenders, with the four-time Coach of the Year calling the shots again.
“Leo has so much success in the way he’s done things. If it ain’t broke, why change it?” asked the 67-year-old bench tactician rhetorically.
“Until someone can consistently prove that they can beat San Miguel, why would they change? And no one’s been able to prove that in the All-Filipino.”
(C) PBA Images
“Now, they’ve added a veteran in Juami who’s a good fit for what June Mar likes to do; kind of the Alex Cabagnot type–you know, he can sit outside and really space the floor for him,” he said of the gunner, who had 19 against the Bolts.
Aside from having somebody who’s practically taken the spot of the ‘Crunchman,’ what makes the present-day San Miguel the same from past iterations are the presence of Marcio Lassiter and Chris Ross.
Yes, the remnants of the dreaded ‘Death Five’ that brought unprecedented success to the franchise–a Philippine Cup ‘five-peat,’ to be exact.
“I don’t see a lot of difference, honestly. I mean, Marcio’s still there, Ross is still there, and those guys are such huge veterans. They know the game so well. They know each other. They know the team so well,” the 25-time champion coach said.
“They’re terrific leaders. I’ve had the experience of having them at the Asian Games, and I know what kind of leaders those guys are. We can’t say enough good things about them.”
