With a power vacuum at five-peat champ San Miguel Beer, Barangay Ginebra coach Tim Cone sees the coming PBA Philippine Cup hostilities as a wide-open race.
"I think it's a wide-open field. Probably for the first time in five, six years, the All-Filipino is up for grabs. I don't think there's a decided favorite out there but I think any team can step up," Cone said during Thursday's PBA Media Day activity at Okada Hotel.
"I'm saying that in all honesty. You say that in previous conferences but at the back of your mind, you say, oh, it's still San Miguel," he added.
Everybody knows how big a hole five-time MVP June Mar Fajardo left at the Beermen camp, his indefinite absence due to a fractured shin tilting the balance of the 12-team field.
But, Cone stressed, that doesn't mean you could count out the Fajardo-less Beermen.
"Without June Mar, San Miguel's still gonna be a great team. They're well-coached, (SMB coach) Leo (Austria) won five consecutive all-Filipino in a row so obviously, he knows what he's doing and will think of the right adjustments so you can't discount them at all. But I still think it's a little bit wide open at this point," he said.
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"A team like NorthPort can step up and win a championship, so does Alaska, with Vic Manuel and Abu Tratter and the guards they have. I think TNT and Magnolia are gonna be the favorites; if there's a favorite, those two teams will be the favorites. NLEX has got a really good pre-season. If CJ (Perez) gets it going with their rookie (Roosevelt Adams), they (Columbian Dyip) could make some moise. Again, it can be any team at this point," he added.
The Gin Kings themselves are expected to make a serious crack at the crown jewel of the PBA coming off their triumph in the Governors' Cup.
But Cone and Co. will have to so without Greg Slaughter, who took a sabbatical after his contract lapsed. Veteran big man Joe de Vance will also be out for a month, leaving Japeth Aguilar with much of the frontline responsibilities.
"Obviously we have a big hole in our team without Greg and we're expecting it to be like that for the rest of the conference. We're also gonna lose Joe for about maybe a month starting March 7, so two big guys out of our lineup and that's gonna make it harder for us. But Japeth is jumping to a whole new level, he showed that in a practice game.
"We also got young rookies who I like, who will make a big impact; they're still feeling their way but we'll get there. We're confident we'll get there," said Cone.
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Ginebra kicks off its Philippine Cup campaign against Blackwater Elite on March 14 in the league's first out-of-town game of Season 45 in Balanga, Bataan.(OL)
