Earl Timothy Cone (born December 14, 1957), better known as Tim Cone, is an American basketball coach, and is currently the head coach of the San Mig Coffee Mixers in the Philippine Basketball Association. He is known for leading the Alaska Aces to 13 PBA titles in its franchise history while leading the 1996 Alaska Milkmen to a rare PBA Grandslam. He also once coached the Philippine Centennial Basketball Team in 1998. Cone is a proponent of the triangle offense.
Coaching career
Alaska Aces (1989-2011)
In 1989, Cone took over as the coach of the Alaska Air Force with players such as the famed Bruise Brothers duo of Yoyoy Villamin and Ricky Relosa, and Abet Guidaben. A year later, Cone led the Air Force to the finals of the 1990 PBA Third Conference. Alaska blew a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five series to suffer one of the biggest collapses in PBA history, losing to Purefoods in five games. But in 1991, Alaska won its first championship by defeating Ginebra San Miguel in the 3rd Conference. That team was led by Jojo Lastimosa, Eugene Quilban and Bong Alvarez.
After several struggles, Cone's team would have a strong team of locals Johnny Abarrientos, Jojo Lastimosa, Bong Hawkins, Jeffrey Cariaso and Edward Juinio, while having import Sean Chambers for the Milkmen. From 1994 to 1998, the Milkmen won eight titles in 14 conferences during the stretch. The highlight of that run though would come in the 1996 season when Alaska won the coveted PBA Grand Slam, becoming the third franchise and the fourth team to win a Grand Slam in the history of the PBA.
While Alaska continued to dominate by adding Kenneth Duremdes in 1997. Duremdes, playing a limited role with the Pop Cola franchise, rose up to the occasion in 1998 under Cone's tutelage, winning the PBA Most Valuable Player Award at 24 years of age. That year, Cone was hired as the coach of the Philippine Centennial Team led by Duremdes, Abarrientos, Lastimosa, three players on Cone's Alaska team, and PBA stars Alvin Patrimonio, Marlou Aquino and Allan Caidic. That team won a bronze medal in the 1998 Asian Games in Bangkok, Thailand.
Alaska won the 2000 All-Filipino Cup, but afterwards, the team faced rebuilding and traded away several remnants of the old Alaska. Cone, however, would lead the young team of John Arigo and Ali Peek to runner-up finishes in the 2002 Governors and All-Filipino Cup. A year later, the Aces added UAAP star Mike Cortez and fil-am Brandon Cablay, leading Alaska to the 2003 PBA Invitational Cup championship, Cone's 11th title.
On July 17, 2006, Manila Standard reported that Alaska is set to terminate Cone depending on a meeting between both parties after Cone's contract with the Aces expired on July 15. Rumors also speculated that his replacement will be his former assistant, former National team mentor Chot Reyes, with Cone staying on as team consultant.
However, a day later, the Aces' official website reported that Cone has agreed to a new deal to stay on as the team's head coach for the 2006-07 PBA season. Terms of the contract were not disclosed.
B-Meg Llamados/San Mig Coffee Mixers (2011-present)
On September 1, 2011, Alaska team owner Wilfred Uytengsu announced that it has "released Tim Cone as head coach of the Alaska Aces" after 22 years of PBA seasons. Uytengsu remarked that Cone requested to be released a week earlier. Cone was quick to deny in a press conference that he is set to coach B-Meg Llamados, another PBA team.
On September 14, 2011, Tim Cone was at the B-Meg Llamados practice that day and was introduced as the new head coach. He tapped former Alaska players Johnny Abarrientos and Jeffrey Cariaso as assistant coaches. The two new assistant coaches were joined by current assistant coach Koy Banal.
On May 6, 2012, the Llamados won the 2012 PBA Commissioner's Cup championship 4-3 over defending champion Talk N Text. This was Cone's 14th title, and his first with B-meg.[1]
Personal life
Cone was born in the United States and grew up in Oregon. He moved to the Philippines when he was nine years old after his father came to the country to work in the logging industry.[2] After a year, his mom, sister and he moved to Manila. He and his sister were enrolled in the International School Manila, where he eventually finished high school. He went on to attend college in the US, spending two years at Menlo College in California where he played basketball, before moving to George Washington University where he eventually graduated. He says he had never thought of a career in basketball because “when you’re growing up as a young man, you don’t dream of being a coach.”[3]
“I was living in Manila and I’d come up to Quezon for a weekend once every three weeks, but after I met Cristina, I didn’t want to live in the province anymore,” coach Tim reveals. They met on a double date, where he brought his friend Mark and Cristina brought her friend Malou, but he ended up being paired with Malou that night. After going away again for three months, he shares: “I came back and I was really interested in Cristina, I didn’t have her number and so I called Malou to get her number,” he laughs out loud and turns red. To this day, they are all friends, and they still laugh about that story. They’ve been married for 21 years and have three children, Nikki, 20, Kevin, 16, and Trevor, 6.
External links
References
San Mig Super Coffee Mixers current roster |
|---|
| |
|
Alaska Aces |
|---|
| | | | The franchise | |
|---|
| | Administration |
- Owner: Wilfred Steven Uytengsu
- Board Governor/Team Manager: Joaqui Trillo
|
|---|
| | Coaches | |
|---|
| | Championships (14) | |
|---|
| | Runner-up finishes (12) | |
|---|
| | Retired jerseys | |
|---|
| | Seasons (28) | |
|---|
|
San Mig Super Coffee Mixers |
|---|
|
- Formerly the Purefoods TJ Giants, Coney Island Ice Cream Stars and B-Meg Llamados
- Founded in 1988
- Owned by the San Miguel-Purefoods Company, Inc., a subsidiary of San Miguel Corporation
| | | The franchise | |
|---|
| | Coaches | |
|---|
| | Administration | |
|---|
| | Championships (10) | |
|---|
| | Runner-up finishes (13) | |
|---|
| | Seasons (25) | |
|---|
| | Retired numbers | |
|---|
| | Culture and lore | |
|---|
|
| Persondata |
|---|
| Name |
Cone, Tim |
| Alternative names |
|
| Short description |
American basketball player-coach |
| Date of birth |
December 14, 1957 |
| Place of birth |
Oregon, USA |
| Date of death |
|
| Place of death |
|
American
