AS his way of congratulating Tim Cone for Gilas Pilipinas' historic gold medal in the 19th Asian Games, Senator Sonny Angara shared an old photo of the young American in his early years in the Philippines.
The colorized photo shows nine-year old Tim out on the fields of Baler, Quezon with his grade school teacher, Mr. Custodio, and his classmates.
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The photo unwittingly shows the deep Philippine roots of Cone, who has since become the most successful coach in PBA history with 25 championships, including a pair of grand slams.
"Yep, that's me!! Circa 1968, Baler Public School, Aurora, Quezon," Cone says when showed the photo, although the 67-year old coach's memory was a bit off since the original photo was dated 1967.
"Spent a year at the public school," Cone adds.
Cone would later transfer to the International School in Manila and get his college education in the US, but he returned at age 24 to embark on a coaching career that to date has been nothing short of legendary.
For decades now, Cone is by law a permanent resident in the country by virtue of his marriage to the former Cristina Viaplana, but an honorary citizenship would no doubt be a great honor for a coach who has done so much for Philippine basketball.
But as great an honor that would be, that would only be on paper.
After winning seven PBA championships with the beloved Ginebra team, five more including a grand slam with Purefoods, and an Asian Games gold medal with Gilas Pilipinas, Cone is no doubt as Filipino as Filipino can be in the eyes of fans.
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