WHEN Barangay Ginebra coach Tim Cone said in his acceptance speech that he is sharing the Outstanding Coach of the Bubble trophy given to him by the PBA Press Corps to Topex Robinson, it brought him back to the events that led him to become a full-fledged coach.
“I’m so grateful kasi doon nag-start lahat,” said Robinson, referring to Cone.
Robinson said it was Cone who gave him the break that would eventually bring him to the coaching ranks during the latter part of the 2010 Fiesta Conference when Alaska signed him up as a player on his way to his second and final PBA crown.
“Nung nawala ako sa PBA, I went back to the States, I was out for eight months,” Robinson shared. “They took me in the middle of the conference. Quarterfinals na ‘yun, they gave me a chance. And then, we won a championship.”
The current Phoenix coach was signed to a contract at a time when he was already pondering on what to do with his basketball career on whether he will continue playing. Robinson, however, said he was also planning to stay in the United States for good and leave his basketball career in the Philippines behind before the Alaska job came.
Robinson said the opportunity to learn under Cone as a player was something that was too good to pass up.
“During that time, I was deciding on coaching already but I still have a live contract as a player. But sabi ko, I want to be coaching. I really want to be coaching ever since even when I was playing in the PBA.”
“Since I was on a live contract (with Purefoods), hindi pa pwede pero nagpaalam ako nun. Sabi ko, ‘yung chance na mapunta sa kanya (Cone), rare. I’m going to take this opportunity. I took a chance and then binigyan niya ako ng chance,” Robinson said.
Robinson signed a new deal after that championship, but wasn’t able to finish his playing contract as he was then elevated to be part of Cone’s assistants. At that time, Robinson still didn’t see himself as part of Cone’s staff as it was loaded with veteran coaches such as Joel Banal and Jojo Lastimosa. “Taga-abot lang ako ng bola doon dahil loaded ‘yun,” Robinson said.
He then learned from Cone why he was hired in the first place as a player.
“I asked, sabi ko, bakit ako dahil ‘yung position ko marami. Ang tagal ko na rin lahat. What I remembered what he told me is he knows that I’m going to make LA (Tenorio) play better because I play defense and LA, during that time, (bata pa siya nun). ‘Yung role ko sa Alaska, obviously defense kasi playoffs na ‘yun. ‘Yun lang ang reason,” said Robinson.
That move only reinforced his desire to become a coach someday.
“Ayoko nang umalis ng Alaska nun. Siyempre, after coach Tim, I wanted to be a coach. Might as well, eto na ‘yung best opportunity. That’s how everything started. Feeling ko talaga, coaching is my calling. I was with coach Yeng for five years. Ang dami kong natutunan sa kanya. Those are the people that I looked up to as a coach,” he added.
Eventually, Robinson took head coaching jobs, initially with San Sebastian, but it was with Lyceum where he became successful, leading the Pirates to two NCAA finals appearances. He was then appointed by Phoenix to become its head coach starting the 2020 season in which the Fuel Maters to a semifinal finish in the Philippine Cup bubble.
Robinson said he will be forever be grateful to Cone for giving him the coaching break.
“Doon nag-start lahat. Nakabalik ako ng PBA, eventually naging coach, I won a championship as a player. Dahil lang doon sa opportunity na ‘yun,” he added.
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