HANGZHOU - The pain of not winning an Asian Games gold medal 25 years ago is over for Tim Cone.
With Gilas Pilipinas finally regaining the Asiad basketball crown Friday night with a 70-60 win over Jordan, the national coach said the pain of not being able to deliver in the 1998 edition of the Asiad has been eased.
READ: Gilas gets back at Jordan to win first Asiad basketball gold in 61 years
Cone was the coach of the Philippine Centennial Team that could only win the bronze medal in Bangkok, Thailand, suffering a semifinal defeat to the Chinese.
"It's good to feel good about it," he said of the historic Asian Games gold medal, the country's first since 1962.
"I was so devastated in 1998 when we didn't win it. But being able to come this time 25 years later and going up and down a few times in the wringer, I thought I can handle it a lot better this time."
Cone disclosed several members of the Centennial Team like Johnny Abarrientos and Kenneth Duremdes sent messages of good luck on the eve of the gold medal match.
"It brought back a lot of memories. I thought about that team a lot," he said.
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