Tim Cone was in no mood to entertain thoughts of moral victories in the aftermath of Gilas Pilipinas’ 69-66 loss to New Zealand on Thursday night at the SM Mall of Asia Arena. For the PBA’s winningest coach, a near win isn’t going to cut it.
“I’m not going to sit here and pretend I’m happy about our performance,” Cone told reporters in the postgame presser after the game. “The bottom line is we’re not going to feel good or take pride in the fact that we got close or we almost won… We’re here to win, and we didn’t do that.”
Indeed, Gilas got close—close enough to maybe send the game to extra time and pull out another stunner. But, as Cone pointed out, the national team didn’t get the job done.
Tim Cone and His Familiar Refrain
If Cone’s words seem familiar, it’s because they should be. Cone has made the same point quite a few times already, whether pertaining to Gilas Pilipinas or Barangay Ginebra San Miguel in the PBA.
For instance, when Gilas Pilipinas lost to Brazil in the 2024 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament, Cone pointed out that “almost winning, almost getting there, almost that…” is “not good enough.” Then, after losing Game 1 to the TNT Tropang Giga in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals, Cone said Ginebra needed to “change the narrative” of getting outplayed and his getting outcoached.
Time to Walk the Talk
So, yes, the no-moral-victories rhetoric is, to a degree, a Tim Cone special—and it’s admirable, really. But rhetoric isn’t good enough either. Pointing out the obvious doesn’t cut it.
“We showed up to win, and we didn’t do that tonight,” Cone reiterated of Gilas’ loss to New Zealand.
That much is true. That much is obvious. Now, the onus is on Tim Cone to make sure Gilas can do more than just stay close. It’s on Cone to figure out a way to turn “almost a win” into a win. Maybe he needs to change things up, get creative with his play-calling, or maybe even switch out players. Maybe he should run a full-court press or move away from the triangle. Maybe he can use Justin Brownlee as a decoy and leave the playmaking to Juan Gomez de Liaño, Kevin Quiambao, and Cjay Perez. Whatever it is, Conw needs to do something.
It’s time for Tim Cone to walk the talk.
