TIM Cone played down his angry words directed at RJ Abarrientos late in Game One of Barangay Ginebra’s 102-100 win over TNT in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals, saying it's no big deal.
As the champion coach himself admitted, ‘I’m an equal opportunity screamer.’
“I screamed at everybody whether by Justin (Brownlee), RJ (Abarrientos), Scottie (Thompson), Johnny Abarrientos back in the days, Bong Hawkins, Jojo (Lastimosa), James Yap,” said Cone as he rattled off names of star players he had arguments with during games in the past.
READ Cone called out RJ's defense - so Abarrientos came through on offense
“Hopefully, our relationship is strong enough to hold a grudge or anything like that. So I’m an equal opportunity.”
The 68-year-old Cone had a little exchange with Abarrientos at the height of a mighty TNT comeback in the fourth quarter when last season’s Rookie of the Year failed to keep in step with Rey Nambatac on defense.
The TNT guard exploded for 13 points in the payoff period, including nine straight points which suddenly put the reigning champions on top, 93-90, after trailing by as many as 18 points.
But Abarrientos made up for those defensive lapses by burying back-to-back four-point shots as the Kings regained the lead at 100-97 in the final 20 seconds.
Cone said the Kings are leaving the incident behind especially with Abarrientos playing superbly for the team in the mid-season conference.
At the same time, he said that’s just the kind of mentor he is.
“I think that’s just what you got to be in a coach. You just can’t scream at the end of the bench players or scream just at the superstars. You got to be able to get on everybody at times,” said the Gilas Pilipinas mentor.
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