BY HIS own admission, two-time grand slam champion coach Tim Cone considers the 2002 PBA Governors' Cup and 2010 PBA Philippine Cup as his toughest championship series.
Interestingly, both series were against three-time PBA champion coach Ryan Gregorio and the Purefoods Hotdogs.
"No one beat me up more in a series than Ryan," admitted Cone, who coached the Alaska Aces on both occasions.
"He was for me the definition of kontrabida. I really don't know how or why, but he had my number. I had my worst defeats to him-- getting swept in four games, losing a 3-1 series lead, once losing a 28-point lead. It seems the list goes on," he added.
Cone and his Aces hold what appeared to be a commanding 3-1 advantage in the 2002 PBA Governor's Cup but they couldn't put away the Hotdogs.
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In a sudden twist turn of events that jolted Cone, Gregorio and the Hotdogs won the next three games to emerge victorious in the best-of-seven title series.
Their paths would cross again eight years later in the 2010 PBA Philippine Cup Finals. The rematch was a lot more devastating to Cone as Gregorio, now an executive with the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas, and the Hotdogs swept the Aces in four games.
"Maybe his personnel just matched up well against ours or his coaching style was the antithesis to mine. In any case, he always had all the answers and got all the wins. I just got frustrated," confessed Cone, who has won a total 22 championship including two grand slam championships with Alaska and SanMig Coffee.
His battle with the legendary coach Baby Dalupan and the Living Leged Sonny Jaworski early in his coaching career were also on top of the list of Cone's toughest Finals.
Only in his second season in the league, Cone and the Alaska Milkmen were one win away from clinching the 1990 PBA Third Conference crown after posting a 2-0 lead against Purefoods Hotdogs in the best of five Finals.
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But they fell short as Dalupan and the Hotdogs took the next three games to claim Purefoods' first championship.
It was a bitter pill to swallow for Cone but the lessons he learned paved the way for his first ever championship at the expense of Jaworski and the Ginebra Gin Kings in the 1991 Third Conference title series.
Cone claimed facing the Big J was a struggle.
"It was really our first true confrontation with Sonny Jaworski and it was one to remember. It was incredibly loud from the first moment we stepped on the floor. There was Sonny on the sideline in uniform, larger than life and commanding the whole arena. I remembered feeling very intimidated," said Cone, of his first Finals match-up against Jaworski.
Alaska wrapped up the series, 3-1, behind the dominant performance of Sean Chambers. (RJ)
