PBA: Tim Cone, San Mig Coffee Mixers seek place in history books

In the upcoming 2013-14 Philippine Cup Finals, coach Tim Cone and San Mig Super Coffee Mixers are chasing history. Cone is gunning for a league-best 16th championship, which would break Baby Dalupan's record, in his 27th championship appearance. However, overcoming the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters is not going to be an easy task.

"Rain or Shine plays hard, and they don't change the way they play," said Cone, Thursday, during the PBA’s Finals press conference. Cone compared their foes to the NBA's San Antonio Spurs for their relentless style of play. Whether they are playing ahead or behind in a game, "They play hard all the time, and that's the biggest compliment I can give them.”
 
Cone is also seeking his sixth back-to-back championship. In the history of the PBA, only 12 teams have won two or more championships in a row. The last time San Mig Coffee attempted to cop consecutive crowns was after winning the 2012 Commissioner's Cup, only to be denied by Rain or Shine in a seven-game series. Naturally, Cone is looking for redemption.

Many eyes will be on the Mixers' health during the finals. Forward Joe Devance suffered an ankle injury in game six last Monday and did not play the entire second half, while guard James Yap is still dealing with nagging issues in his right shooting elbow. But both players said they're prepared to soldier on to help the franchise capture its 11th PBA championship.

"Kailangan talagang i-rest talaga para mag-heal, pero kapag nasa ganito kang situation, ilaro mo nalang," said Yap. "Kasi mahirap makarating sa finals, at ang sarap ng laro sa finals."

A lot will also depend on how Cone will manage the minutes of his bench, especially after concluding a seven-game series against Ginebra. Marc Pingris played 41 minutes in their game seven victory and has logged the fourth most minutes in the league at 36.4 per contest. Other Mixers stalwarts like PJ Simon (32.3 minutes) and Devance (31.3 minutes) are also close behind.

In contrast, the Elasto Painters are coming off a week's worth of rest and play with a well-balanced rotation. None or Rain or Shine's players logs more than 25 minutes a game (led by wingman Jeff Chan at 24.2 minutes per outing).

"Our health is our weapon. When we're a healthy team, we're a team to reckon with," said Cone. To an extent, Cone says the minutes they play will be a huge factor, and to some extent, he's "a bit jealous" of the way Yeng Guiao manages his rotations. But in the end Cone says he's going to maintain his style and stick to his trusted veterans to close out games.

"We're a bit more balanced this time around and we have a bit more depth," he said, citing the emergence of rookies Justin Melton and Ian Sangalang. "We have a second group that we didn't have prior to this conference. I know the starters appreciate that group that keeps them a bit fresher."

It's no small order for San Mig Coffee to overcome Rain or Shine since the latter swept them in two games during the elimination round, including a 101-77 thumping last December 29. "We just have a lot of respect [for their team],” he said. "They have our number for the last few game we've played them."

The Mixers fell to 1-4 after that matchup, but Cone believes that debacle was a turning point for his team. "Finally we've reached the bottom of the barrel, now we're ready to climb our way out," he said. "We started to pick up after that." San Mig Coffee went 6-3 the rest of the way and finished fifth after the elimination round.

The Mixers are also looking to improve on their 2-1 championship record in the Finals since Cone joined the franchise in 2011. All three series went the distance of seven games. - AMD, GMA News