TIM Cone and Chot Reyes’ relationship go back for more than three decades when Reyes started out as Cone’s assistant for Alaska in the early 90s.
Since then, the two coaches have amassed massive success in their professional teams and their time serving the Philippine national team, being at the forefront of the country’s basketball scene and in the minds of fans everywhere – for better or for worse.
But it’s quite shocking to find out that for all their success, including a combined 34 PBA titles and 11 PBA Coach of the Year awards in between them, this PBA Governors’ Cup showdown between Cone’s Ginebra and Reyes’ TNT will be the first time in 12 years that the two brilliant coaches face off in the finals.
READ: Chot and Cone agree players, not coaches, will decide PBA Finals
For coach Chot’s sake, history better not repeat itself.
The last time they faced each other in the finals, Cone – in his first year under the SMC banner – got the better of Reyes as his B-Meg Llamados outlasted TNT (then known as Talk ‘N Text Tropang Texters) in seven games.
That series will forever be remembered as a thriller with Talk ‘N Text letting that title slip away from their hands as they were up two with seconds remaining in the deciding game, before Kelly Williams was called for a hotly disputed foul on import Denzel Bowles with 1.2 seconds remaining.
Bowles sank the free throws and sent the game into overtime where the Llamados would go on and beat the Tropang Texters, giving Cone the first of his 12 PBA championships with the San Miguel group.
A lot has happened for the two good friends since they last sat on opposite benches in a championship setting, with both carving out their own paths in different endeavors, to joining up once again in one bench, to one being another’s replacement, and to now where they stand in each other’s way in the PBA finals.
Let’s take a deep dive at how these two tacticians have gone since that last faceoff.
Going on separate, successful ways
That championship win over Chot was the start of Cone’s masterful run as it was only a precursor to what he’ll do two years later – win his second Grand Slam.
While Cone only won two titles in his first two years in the Purefoods franchise, it was in 2014 where the American tactician would take that team to heights it has never been in before.
With his core of James Yap, Marc Pingris and Peter June Simon leading the way, they dominated the 2014 PBA season, giving Cone his second Grand Slam since winning it with Alaska in 1996.
Cone's signature triangle offense ran like clockwork in the squad, and they were a machine defensively on the other end, making them one of the most fearsome teams in that era.
While Cone was taking the Purefoods franchise to new heights, it would only be fair to say that Chot was also doing the same thing for Gilas Pilipinas.
As Cone focused on winning titles in the pro scene, Reyes eventually left Talk ‘N Text to focus on the Philippine national team where ‘Puso’ mania will reach fever pitch in the country over the next few years.
After winning the Williams Jones Cup in 2012, Reyes would steer the country to its best FIBA Asia finish in 28 years as Gilas took silver at home behind Iran. More importantly, the finish secured the country a return to the FIBA World Cup for the first time in 36 years.
While Gilas only won a single game in the world meet, they gave a good account of themselves by having a chance to win against global basketball powerhouses including Croatia (78-81 OT), the Luis Scola-led Argentina (81-85) and Puerto Rico (73-77).
With Cone winning titles left and right in the pro scene, and Reyes restoring faith in the national team, the two pals were certainly on top of their professional careers and in the public’s perception.
Unfortunately, only one of the two will get to live that out in the next few years.
The (Unexpected) Man of the People
For Ginebra fans who grew up in the 90’s, Tim Cone is the perfect villain.
With his buttoned up polo and tie and that stoic look on his face as his Alaska team ran like a well-oiled machine while beating the beloved Robert Jaworski-led Ginebra/ Gordon’s Gin team more times than not in the 90s, it was easy for fans to hate on Cone.
About two decades later, who knew that the man who tortured Ginebra so much in the 90s will be the team’s saving grace?
When Cone joined Ginebra in 2015, the league’s most popular franchise was in the mud.
Ginebra hasn’t won a title since 2008 and for the past two years, they’ve had four different head coaches in a stretch where Ginebra fans would rather forget – the so-called “Kangkong” era.
It only took Cone three conferences to turn things around as in the 2016 PBA Governors Cup, Ginebra would end an eight-year drought off an unforgettable Justin Brownlee three-pointer in their Game 6 win over Meralco.
That signalled the start of Cone’s dynastic Ginebra chapter, as he’s already won six titles since that stretch, targeting his seventh when he crosses paths with Reyes again.
Now the leader of the Barangay, Cone’s certainly on top of the world. Winning titles is nice. But winning it for the most beloved team in the league? That’s probably one of the few things that’s foreign to the bemedalled coach at that time.
But while Cone’s on an all-time high in the public world, Reyes’ popularity was spiraling.
Becoming Public Enemy Number 1
It all started with one simple instruction in the 2014 Asian Games. With the Philippines up by two against Kazakhstan, Reyes instructed Marcus Douthit to shoot on their own goal to force overtime.
After a solid run in the worlds, Gilas had a subpar performance in the Asiads which resulted in them needing to win by 11 points in order to advance to the next stage.
Of course, there are already rules in place to safeguard those kinds of loopholes so the basket didn’t count. And the Filipino fans, being a proud basketball nation, didn’t take lightly to being ‘humiliated’ on an international stage.
But that was just the start of what would be Chot Reyes’ crazy fall from the public’s perception.
After that fracas, Reyes would resign from his post and for a while, he’d have his time as TV executive, leading the Sports5 group before becoming the president and CEO of TV5 in October 2016 up to 2019.
It was also around this time where his relationship with the fans would start to sour, as he retook control of the Gilas program in this stretch, replacing Tab Baldwin who had a pretty decent run in his time as the Gilas head coach.
The lukewarm results soon after didn’t exactly help his public perception, with Reyes being judged as a “power player” in the SBP politics, owing to his good relationship with longtime basketball patron Manny V. Pangilinan by some hardcore basketball fans.
A nasty brawl against Australia in the 2018 World Cup Qualifiers forced Reyes’ second resignation from the national team, but fans certainly haven’t seen the last of Reyes.
After Baldwin surprisingly stepped down as the Gilas coach – much to the curiosity of many – Reyes was back in the fold in 2022, and this time whatever relationship he had with the public has certainly disappeared.
From steering the Philippines to its first World Cup appearance in 36 years just a few years ago, Reyes was at the helm of its first SEA Games loss in 22 years, bowing to Indonesia in the gold medal game.
With the preparation for the 2023 FIBA World Cup now in full swing, Reyes stayed on until the Worlds which happened in Manila – the event where he’d once again join Cone in one bench.
Together again, but not for long
With pressure mounting on the SBP, it joined hands with the SMC group allowing Cone to rejoin the national team in the upcoming FIBA World Cup as one of Reyes’ assistants.
At the same time that Reyes was being booed by most people in attendance, there was already a clamor among fans to elevate Cone to head coach status as Gilas lost one game after another in the group stages.
After all, Cone had a pretty good return to national team duties when he steered Gilas Pilipinas to a dominant run in the 2019 Southeast Asian Games – his first time handling the team since the 1998 Centennial Team.
Cone got the job soon after.
After a dismal campaign in the 2023 Worlds which thankfully ended with a win over China, Reyes resigned for the third time with the American mentor being named as his temporary replacement.
READ: Twenty-five years later, Cone savors redemption from 1998 letdown
It didn’t take long for Cone to make an impression as Gilas took home the gold medal in the Asian Games for the first time in 60 years, while also redeeming himself from his ‘biggest heartbreak’ when the Centennial Team in 1998 settled for bronze in Thailand.
That continental success extended to the world stage, as they had a solid performance in the 2024 FIBA Olympic Qualifiers, taking down World No. 6 Latvia while performing well against Brazil and Georgia.
Safe to say, Cone’s gonna be in this program for however long he wants to be.
Foes Once More
For all the things hurled at Chot Reyes in his time as Gilas Pilipinas coach, he’s still a pretty good coach and that’s evident in his return to TNT.
Reyes replaced Jojo Lastimosa, the one who called the shots in TNT’s 2023 conquest of Ginebra in the same conference, and it didn’t take long for him to have his imprints on this team.
While it’s far from the powerhouse TNT squads he’s handled in the past, the outspoken head coach has turned this Tropang Giga side into the best defensive squad in the 2024 PBA Governors’ Cup behind the steady play of Rondae Hollis Jefferson and his locals led by Calvin Oftana, Poy Erram and Jayson Castro.
After topping Group A, the Tropang Giga made short work of NLEX in the quarterfinals before stopping Rain or Shine’s inspiring run in five games to set a date with Cone’s Barangay Ginebra in the best of seven finals, a situation that’s oh so familiar for the 66-year-old mentor.
It’s a completely different situation right now for both tacticians, with the two coaches couldn’t be further apart at least when it comes to the public’s perception of them since then.
But the shift in popularity aside, it’s still the same two coaches. The two most successful coaches in PBA history who went adjustment for adjustment the last time they faced each other in the finals.
The same two coaches who needed an extra period after a long and tedious seven-game affair just in order to separate their two squads.
Fair to say, this will be a good series between two of the best coached teams in the pro scene right now.
Addendum
For all the changes they’ve both had since 2012, one thing remains constant for both coaches. Their trust in one particular big man.
When they last faced each other, TNT’s frontline was bannered by former PBA MVP Kelly Williams and opposite him on the B-Meg side was Joe Devance.
In 2021, Williams came out of retirement to suit up for TNT and reignite his partnership with Reyes, while just last month, it was Devance who came out of his own retirement to join Cone and bolster a thin Barangay Ginebra frontline ahead of the playoffs.
Their roles for both coaches might be so much different than it was, but it’s safe to say that when the going gets tough, these coaches will always have these trusty vets to fall back on.
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