Barangay Ginebra head coach Tim Cone is turning his attention away from their upcoming semifinals series against TNT, prioritizing his national team commitments following a grueling quarterfinal victory over San Miguel Beer.
Fresh off a 110-94 triumph in a do-or-die game against SMB, Cone admitted that preparations for the next round have taken a back seat as he transitions to his role as head coach of Gilas Pilipinas for the upcoming FIBA World Cup qualifying window in November.
”I’m not going to be focused too much on it right now because I’ve got Gilas duties coming up first,” Cone said.
Cone acknowledged that Ginebra will face a significant disadvantage heading into the semifinals due to the absence of key personnel. Aside from Cone himself, assistant coach Richard del Rosario, several members of the coaching staff, and star guard Scottie Thompson will be away on national team duty.
”Unlike all the other teams, they’re going to have an opportunity to rest and prepare and we’re not going to have that opportunity with Ginebra, at least with, you know, not a full team,” he explained.
”I’ll be gone, Richard will be gone, a lot of our staff will be gone, Scottie will be gone. So, you know, then we come back on, what, on the 30th or 1st, on the 1st and then we got to play on the, on the 4th. So it’s going to be a tough road for us,” he added.
During the two-week break, assistant coaches Olsen Racela and Johnny Abarrientos will steer team preparations. Cone and Thompson are scheduled to rejoin the squad just days before Game 1 tips off on December 4.
Despite the scheduling crunch, Cone emphasized that the franchise readily embraces the challenge for the greater good of Philippine basketball as Gilas prepares to face Syria on November 27 and Iran on November 29.
”That’s the sacrifice that we make, that Ginebra as an organization makes for the Gilas team and it’s a tough one,” Cone said.
”I certainly would love to have a break. I know this guy (Thompson) would love to have a break, but we’re also, obviously proud and excited to, to coach in this really, really important window. Another do or die window for us,” he stressed.