BACOLOD – Tim Cone won’t be the only representative of Barangay Ginebra from the coaching side in the PBA All-Star Weekend.
One of Cone’s assistant coaches, Patrick Partosa, will man the sidelines when he mentors Team Greats for the Rookies, Sophomores, and Juniors Game on Saturday at the University of St. La Salle Coliseum.
When Cone received the most number of votes during last year’s All-Star Game, Ginebra’s lead assistant Richard Del Rosario coached in the RSJ in Passi, Iloilo. But it will be a different story this year as Cone has deployed Partosa for this year’s edition.
All-Star experience
“I’m excited. It’s a good experience for me,” said the 32-year-old Partosa. “I’m getting to work with a lot of these other players na hindi ko naman sila makikita palagi. I don’t see them everyday. Getting to know a lot of these young guys, up-and-comers, it’s definitely exciting. It’s a great opportunity.”
Partosa said he was told by Del Rosario that it is going to be an excellent experience for him to work with the best young players in the PBA.
“I think coach Richard passed on it this year. I think he’s been here a few times. He decided not to do it and it sort of fell to me to come over here,” said Partosa.
“He said it’s something good to experience and something that is enjoyable and fun, getting to come to go outside and do something different,” he added.
Partosa’s ticket to Barangay Ginebra was basketball analytics – a growing aspect of coaching where it involves the collection, analysis, and interpretation of statistics, advanced stats, and other numbers.
The youthful coach got his spot at Ginebra as an intern working on analytics, which has become a vital part of coaching over the years. His role grew beyond analytics with the team and he was promoted to assistant coach after the 2021 Philippine Cup where he helps in the preparation through video and working with the players.
Since then, he has become one of Cone's trusted lieutenants, not just with Barangay Ginebra but even outside the ballclub and this year’s All-Star Weekend isn’t the first time that Cone has brought Partosa along.
Partosa's Gilas participation
Partosa had a role during Gilas Pilipinas’ participation in the Fiba Basketball World Cup when Cone was the assistant coach, and even through the national team’s gold medal in the Asian Games, and now with Cone’s appointment as national team head coach.
“I actually started as an intern for Ginebra,” said Partosa, who finished with a degree in economics before he got into basketball coaching.
“Over the past three, four years, it took me from working in analytics to becoming more of an assistant coach. After the first and the second bubble, they gave me the assistant coach [position] and from there, I’ve been just trying to build on that, working more with video and working with the players.”
“I think over the past couple of years, I got to work with Gilas and also with Ginebra. It’s been a very different journey for most people to get into coaching,” he said.
Partosa said being part of Barangay Ginebra is definitely unlike any other, and he has management led by team governor Alfrancis Chua to thank for.
“Indescribable experience. And the fans, the fans are incredible. Everywhere you go, people are shouting Gi-ne-bra. Even in other countries, they are always going to shout ‘Ginebra’ to your players, to coach Tim. It’s one of a kind,” said Partosa.
"This won't be possible without Governor Al and the rest of the team," he added.
Cone embraces analytics
Partosa’s presence in the team is a perfect reflection of how Cone has adapted to the basketball landscape by also including analytics in coaching. Cone’s sustained success over the years has resulted in 25 championships in the PBA.
Partosa agrees.
“He is always on a lookout for something new and different that will give you an edge,” said Partosa of Cone. “I think coaches have to keep evolving through different eras if you want to continue staying on top. That’s one of coach Tim’s greatest strengths. He is always willing to adapt.”
“I know he is known for the triangle offense and that’s been the same for a long time. But within that, he is always looking to, if you can improve on different areas or something, he is looking for that extra,” said Partosa.
Partosa said basketball analytics is already becoming a thing in Philippine basketball although it is still not as widely used as in other leagues and sports overseas. But the Ginebra assistant made it clear that analytics is only a tool and doesn’t guarantee more victories to a team.
“Teams are using more analytics. But at the same time, at the end of the day, it’s only a tool. It’s more about how you use analytics to drive your coaching decisions than just having analytics. It’s like in business or business development, you can have all the info you have but it’s really about what you do with it, how you use it, how you use it to make better decisions, and how much you use it to.”
“In basketball, you always look at it as you have two things – you have analytics and you have the eye test. For the longest time, you only had the eye test, just based on what you see. With both, now you get a full picture. But one without the other, it’s an incomplete picture. You are just trying to form a full picture,” said Partosa.
Partosa also said analytics could also be a path for a career in basketball, like what he went through, but warned of the difficult challenges since it is still not widely used in the Philippines compared to other countries.
Moneyball
“It’s not yet at the point where in the US and even Europe where they see it as valuable,” Partosa said.
On those aspiring to enter basketball coaching through analytics, Partosa said: “You constantly have to prove its value especially at the start. Over time, if you are able to prove that, teams will see it as important. The value, you and what you bring. And that can sort of be your gateway into doing more coaching. That’s how you establish yourself.”
“But at the same time, I will say that it’s going to be tough. If it’s something that you really want to do, you have to be willing to take the hits. But definitely, if your passion is there and you really believe that you have something to contribute, that’s something you can pursue,” said Partosa.
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