Cone -- my new PBA column on San Mig Coffee's Tim Cone

This appears on the PBA website.

Cone

by rick olivares pic by nuki sabio

Tim Cone has added one more thing to his legacy with San Mig Coffee’s historic title-clinching win last night -- he’s surpassed Virgilio “Baby” Dalupan as the Philippine Basketball Association as its winningest coach with 16 conference championships.

Like one of his coaching ‘idols’ in Phil Jackson, he’s won all his championships with two teams --- Alaska and B-Meg/San Mig Coffee. Jackson of course won six NBA championships with Chicago and five with the Los Angeles Lakers.

When I first saw Tim Cone, he was a part of the broadcast panel and my first reaction was, “Who is this guy?” He seemed to have come out of nowhere and he did sound awkward in those first few broadcasts. But then again who doesn’t have the butterflies in one’s first time in front of a camera? I sure did get them in my first stint.

Tim got better at it.

And I believe that is the key to it all – he just got better at his craft.

In one of our long conversations while at Camarines Sur enjoying some time off from hoops and watching a triathlon, coach told me how he didn’t know anything about the triangle offense. All he did was endlessly study those games of the Chicago Bulls. “I rewound tape again and again. I pretty much wore out all those tapes that I memorized everything,” he told me back then. “On the court, it was altogether another matter. It was also trial and error.”

He wrote to Tex Winter who is considered the father of the triple post offense or triangle offense as it is more popularly known. In his trips to the United States, he made it a point to not only sit down with Winter but to discuss his ideas and innovations with the triangle. And Winter did commend him for making it even better.

Then he started winning with Alaska. And Tim got better as a coach that he’s become a great teacher of the game.

When he was with Alaska (I haven’t been inside San Mig’s locker room because they are lot more private), I was able to catch a lot of their practices. Even inside the locker room, I saw his dedication to his craft. Having been inside almost every dugout in the league and then some, none approach his mania for detail. None.

In the Coach’s Convention of the National Basketball Training Center that is run by Eric Altamirano and Alex Compton, I have immensely enjoyed his clinics in front of 300 coaches from all over the country.

I have also been impressed with his respect for the game. Perhaps it was an offshoot of his former boss Fred Uytengsu’s consummate professionalism but Cone always wore neckties to the games. His coaching staff did too. In fact, while writing about him and his teams, I began to refer to the staffs on both Alaska and B-Meg/San Mig Coffee as the “necktie brigades”.

He told me one time, “If you respect the game then the game will reward you.”

And how.

This season, San Mig Coffee got off to a 1-5 start. Whether it was because of a championship hangover or not having enough recovery time between seasons, the Coffee Mixers didn’t look too sharp. But then they went on a win streak and finished fifth in the league after the elimination round.

They were playing the best basketball in the league and they weren’t the foe anyone wanted to face. And look at the teams they knocked out – three-time defending champion Talk ‘N Text in the quarterfinals, league elimination round leader Barangay Ginebra in the semifinals and then tough Rain or Shine in the finals.

San Mig Coffee was the lowest seed (fifth) to win a title since Ginebra pulled the trick during the 2004 Fiesta Conference.

The Coffee Mixers, like their coach, simply got better along the way.

And that has always been the secret – it’s cliché-ish but it’s all true – hard work, dedication, focus, and respect. Now coach is celebrating his 16^th championship.

Honestly, I don’t think that Tim Cone is done at all.

The way we were: Ateneo Men’s Volleyball circa 2005-10

After the Final Four loss to UST in 2009. All smiles. 

This appears on abs-cbnnews.com

The way we were: Ateneo Men’s Volleyball circa 2005-10

by rick olivares

Around 2005, Ateneo’s University Athletics Office began to put the pieces in place for a revamped volleyball program behind Coach Sherwin Malonzo who also played for the Ateneo High School Team. There would be problems along the way, false starts even. But the men’s and women’s volleyball teams were slowly getting better. The women’s team understandably got the lion’s share of help and support not to mention fan appeal. The men’s team on the other hand, toiled in relative anonymity.

But they had picked up some pieces that ensured that Ateneo Men’s Volleyball would no longer be dreary.

One of the first and literally big recruits of the men’s program was 6’4” Andre Joseph “AJ” Pareja who was a standout at Lourdes School (in Mandaluyong) and was recruited by other programs.

Pareja’s parents are both UST alums but they left it to their son to choose where he wanted to go for college. It sure helped that his brother Paolo was already in Ateneo.

“I went to Ateneo because I was thinking of my future beyond volleyball,” recalled AJ. “At that point, I was already set on taking up medicine. UST has a nice medicine program but they didn’t promise me that I’d get there through college. Ateneo however promised me the course of my choice. It was a risk because the med school was just conceived at that time but it paid off. In less than two months I am done with my hospital duties.”

Because of his height, AJ’s PE teachers in Lourdes tried to get him to play basketball. Pareja admitted he felt awkward playing the game. He did however gravitate to volleyball.

His Ateneo college teammate, Mike De Joya, who played middle blocker, on the other hand, also started out in another sport. “In the summer vacation before Grade 5, I managed to get an Ateneo Football Center flyer,” recounted De Joya. “I liked the pictures on the flyer and decided to give varsity football a shot. My coaches were amazing. Heading our training pool were Jong Castaneda, Edwin Cabalida, and the late great Chris Monfort. Seeing the varsity team play inspired me to push myself harder in practice, and in the Grade 6, I finally made the team. Although I played back-up to Aldous Madrangca who was the Grade School’s best goalkeeper back then, I made sure that every minute I was on the field, I was giving my all. I played football up until second year high school, relishing the keeper spot behind Martin Quimson (before he decided to stick to basketball). I loved football, but not having enough playing time on the field got to me. During that sophomore year in high school, Renchie Veracruz (who was my high school classmate, and also became a volleyball teammate from high school up until college) asked me to give volleyball a shot. I’d always been interested in volleyball, and seeing that I had nothing to lose, I went to volleyball practice right after football. The high school team had an excellent coach and motivator in Jouel Aquino, and his persistence to bring out the best in us proved its worth when, in a span of a couple of months, he was able to bring us up to speed with the rest of the teams in the PRADA and UAAP leagues.”

College volleyball on the other hand was so much different.

Macky Limgenco, a teammate of Pareja’s and De Joya’s related their ‘dark days’: “Being a volleyball player for Ateneo back then wasn’t easy. Support was limited to a jacket and a bag every two years. Our uniforms and a pair of shoes. Don’t get me wrong. I have no regrets. I love the sport and the school otherwise I wouldn’t have continued. The ‘good old days’ were three full seasons of going 0-14 and two seasons where we went 2-12. It was a humbling experience. Coming off the Ateneo Boys Volleyball Team, I was used to winning and my ego was way up there. The adjustment was brutal and brought my ego crashing back to earth.”

“Back then it was disheartening being an overlooked team,” added Pareja. “We wouldn’t get support so it was hard to push yourself. The ambition was there but there was no motivation.”

“Boy, I was glad that AJ was no longer an opponent,” said De Joya of Pareja who he went up against in high school PRADA competition. “But I went on to have some great teammates in Pao Pareja, Macky, Mark Salvador, and Timmy Sto. Tomas. We had a young, driven team, and we were aching for a win. That win came during our first game of the UAAP season against the Adamson Falcons.”

“I thought that Adamson game was going to be another 0-1 start,” chimed in Limgenco. We lost the first set. Surprisingly won the second. Lost the third. Then in the fourth, we were down 23-20. For some reason, we were playing very competitively. We won that set and it dawned upon us that we could actually win the game.”

In that fifth set, Ateneo was down 13-10 when they rallied. With Mike De Joya serving, Limgenco said aloud, “Ipasok mo lang.” Soon enough, the score was tied at 13-all. Adamson scored but Paolo Pareja who was having the game of his life tied it once more. Renchie Veracruz served and Ateneo had match point. On Veracruz’ next serve, the Falcons received it well and went into their offense. With their top hitter ready spike the ball, Limgenco rose at the same time – and blocked the shot. And the ball dropped in for match point.

“People started screaming,” recalled Limgenco. “A huge roar went around the UP Kinetics Gym. Other teams congratulated us. It was like winning a championship.”    

Added De Joya, “Although it was only one of two wins we had that season, we knew we had something going. The following season, we were much stronger, and teams no longer saw Ateneo as a “sure-win” game for them; this time, they had to prepare for us. Despite great performances by the team, we failed to improve on the previous year’s record.”

“But our opponents never looked at us as a practice game anymore,” said a proud Limgenco.

The Ateneo Men’s Volleyball Team progressed. By AJ Pareja’s final year, they had made the Final Four where they lost to FEU in four sets. “That was the best ever finish for the men’s team for the longest time. It was a great feeling but I know we could have achieved more.”

Every year, new weapons were added to the mix – Julborg Africa, the power hitting Duane Teves, the high-leaping Xavier Señoren, and JJ Sandoval but somehow the team was still beset by bad luck. Africa got injured and De Joya, Sandoval, Señoren, and Rey Africa were sidelined with academic problems. They looked good only if they were complete.

This season, they have finally put it together and will be facing defending champion National University in the Finals. It will be reigning league MVP Peter Torres up against the upstart Ateneo team led by Marck Espejo.

“I couldn’t be more proud of the team now,” gushed Pareja who was named the league's Most Valuable Player during the 2009-10 season that was in itself a huge accomplishment. “The men’s team have actualized the dream that we all had back then.”

“This is the product of what was started in my freshman year,” pointed out De Joya. “This is the shared vision we had, and we all saw this coming. This is what we’d all been fighting for. This was years in the making. I love that we’re seeing growth from the seeds we planted years ago.”

“Coach Sherwin once told us that our batch was the foundation for something new,” revealed Limgenco. “Honestly, I thought he was nuts. Six years after I hung up my sneakers, the men’s team is now in the finals. Coach Sherwin was right. We helped pave the way. Win or lose, I can now say, 'In the good old days…'”

------------------------------

I followed the men's volleyball team for several seasons. I missed those 0-14 teams but was there for the beginning of the 2-12 years. I stopped watching the year after they finished third place as work got more demanding. Hopefully, I'll be back. But those years -- for all the good and the bad -- remain a good memory. Now if this current team can do it….

Read ENDINGS that is about the Final Four game against UST in 2009. 

And read The Way We Were Part 1

Kaya's David Perkovic: Year One

This appears on philstar.com

David Perkovic: Year One

by rick olivares photo by len pestano

In a few weeks, Australian David Perkovic will have been in the Philippines for a year as head coach for Kaya.

A year. It’s a sign of stability for a club that went through three coaching changes in the space of a year with players going through the revolving door. The 18-year old football club has yet to recover its imperious form from the 2012 UFL season where they finished a close close second to then-champion Global losing only via goal difference.

When Perkovic took over, the club was in disarray. By mid-season, the ship had been righted and Kaya climbed the table to finish fourth. They were the only club to defeat Global twice. Not even eventual champion Stallion was able to take the three full points from the Brian Reid-coached club. Kaya finished with an 8-7-3 record. “If we only won a few of those tied matches, it would have been an entirely different season for us,” said team manager Justin Tolentino.

For all the changes, the club has settled down and has started to play better this season. They are currently at third place in the table with a 5-1-2 record but is 10 points adrift of leader, Loyola, 26-16.

We took the time out to talk to Perkovic about his ‘Year One” in the country as well as to solicit his thoughts about the outlook for Kaya this season.

Rick: You’ve been here for a year…

David: By March it will be one year.

Rick: So how was the transition from Australia to the Philippines?

David: The football in Australia as compared to the Philippines is very different. The main adjustment would have to be dealing with the smaller pitch that we currently play in at the Emperador Stadium. The ability to keep the ball is more difficult. It promotes a more direct style of play which is for me not the way modern football is heading. Although I have to say that the field is better suited for the fans in terms of excitement.

My personal transition began long before I got here. The appointments of Paul and Justin Tolentino started all this. The team is now very different to the squad when I first got here. We’re more fluid and as individuals, are able to play the style of football that we as a club want to implement.

Rick: Aside from the improvement of Kaya, in that year you’ve been here, have you seen changes and growth in Philippine football?

David: The level of football in the Philippines is getting better. In the near future, with the implementation of a national league will only further its development.

I think the UFL Youth League is a great way to get kids playing more football. I also think the decision of the UFL to place a cap on the number of foreigners is a fantastic move. Last season we saw many teams with a lot of foreigners on the roster. That includes Kaya. Now we are seeing more and more Filipinos players receive significant playing time. That will only strengthen the national team.

Rick: Can you cite three of your team’s most memorable matches in this first year? And why do they rank so high up there?

David: Both games against Global last season. We were trailing 2-0 for both games but we ended up winning them, 3-2. The other would be this year against Pasargad. We were losing 1-0 at half time and ended up winning, 3-1. We had nine shots on goal in the first half with nothing to show for it. They only had one shot on goal and they scored. We showed patience and great composure for all three games.

Rick: Are you enjoying yourself then?

David: Most definitely! Kaya has given me a great opportunity to implement my ideas about football and how it should be played. And I can only be grateful for all of this.

Rick: Having said that, have you picked up on Filipino as a language?

David: Have I learnt the local language? I know the very basics. I actually started having one of our PTs giving me lessons in Filipino but it didn’t last very long because she had to go abroad. Now that she is back I should really get started on those lessons again!

Rick: How do you assess Kaya’s chances this new season?

David: Well, we are a third way into the season and we are in touch with the league leaders after eight matches (Kaya figured in a scoreless draw with Loyola, thrashed Army 9-1, defeated Pasargad 3-1, and crushed Green Archers United, 3-0 to take points in their last four fixtures). I have been happy with our efforts in our last three performances. If we can maintain that effort and of course, get better everyday at practice, then we have a chance.

Rick: This is a different Kaya team. Who among the newcomers are performing well?

David: In terms of the new signings, all of them are doing well. (Ghanaian defender) Alfred Osei in his last game was outstanding. (Australian midfielder) Richard Greer has been getting better with every game. (Forward) Jovin Bedic has shown real commitment to come back from injury to start most of the games this season. I expect that as the season goes on, more and more of our players will develop further.

I am also proud of the fact that six of Kaya’s players have been called up to the national team with Nick O’Donnell (goalkeeper), Drew Liauw (defender), and Kenshiro Daniels (midfielder) all receiving their first call up.

Rick: Nice! Thanks for taking the time to answer the questions, coach.

David: Thanks, Rick. I hope to see you at the games as soon as you are feeling better.

A Run-TMC reunion? Sure but not quite.

This appears on nba.com

A Run-TMC reunion? Sure but not quite.

by rick olivares

Tim Hardaway and Mitch Richmond are two of the hopefuls to be inducted in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in April of this year. If elected, they will rejoin former Golden State Warriors teammate Chris Mullin (who was enshrined in 2011) in the Hall of Fame thus reuniting the famed Run-TMC trio.

If that happens it will be a huge day for Golden State fans. Despite being a Chicago Bulls fan, I have made no bones about having a soft spot for the Warriors.

I rooted (to a lesser extent) for the Warriors mainly because of Chris Mullin whose career I followed when he was playing for the St. John’s Redmen. The first replica NBA jersey I ever bought was Mullin’s Golden State #17 (that I bought in 1991 in Oakland). I still have it but it’s really worn out. I recently got a new one that remains a prized possession. In fact, the first time I ever went surfing, I commemorated it by wearing Mullin’s blue G-State tank top while hitting the surf!

Anyways, I became an even bigger fan when he was a part of the 1984 US Men’s Olympic Team that won the gold in Los Angeles. So that sort of carried over to the Warriors and Run-TMC.

Now I have an almost complete set of the second edition Skybox basketball cards. And one of my favorite cards in the pack is the one that features Run-TMC.

The Warriors’ high scoring trio lasted only two years – 1989-90 to 1990-91 – before Richmond was traded to the Sacramento Kings for Billy Owens. I thought it was a bummer of a move. One that Golden State coach Don Nelson would soon regret.

I thought that Owens was a talented player who could put the ball on the floor but the problems of Golden State were of the defensive nature. “Nellie-ball” as G-State’s offense was called reminded one of Paul Westhead’s Denver teams that eschewed defense. They believed that a high scoring offense was the best defense.

Speaking of Denver, the Nuggets’ trio of Alex English, Kiki Vandeweghe, and Dan Issel collectively averaged 76.7 points per game in 1982-83. On the other hand, Run-TMC mustered only 72.5 in 1990-91.

That season, the Warriors went 44–38, their best record in nine years. Nellie’s team finished second in the league in scoring (116.6) with Mullin finishing eighth in scoring (25.7), Richmond 10th (23.9), and Hardaway 11th (22.9). The Warriors made it to the playoffs where they bounced David Robinson’s San Antonio Spurs before getting waylaid by the finals bound Los Angeles Lakers (where they lost to eventual champion Chicago).

Will Hardaway and Richmond make it?

Let’s take a look at what they have accomplished.

Tim Hardaway came to the NBA known for his UTEP Two-Step – the killer crossover that twisted many an ankle. A 14^th pick overall in 1989, Timmy was named to the All-Rookie Team. He played 13 NBA seasons with stops in the Bay area, Miami, Dallas, Denver, and Indiana. A five-time NBA All-Star, Hardaway scored 15,373 points. He was also named to the All-NBA First Team in 1997 (he was selected to the All-NBA Second Team three times as well) while playing for Miami where alongside Alonzo Mourning waged some furious battles with the New York Knicks.

While Hardaway didn’t win a NBA championship, he did bring home an Olympic Gold Medal as part of the US team that competed in the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

Mitch Richmond was drafted fifth overall in 1988 by the Warriors and he rewarded the club with a stellar rookie year that saw him named to the All-NBA Third Team and All-Rookie Team while winning Rookie of the Year honors. He was surprised he was traded to Sacramento, but he quickly blossomed into a star for the Kings.

Richmond scored 20,497 points and averaged more than 21 points per game for ten consecutive seasons in the NBA. At Kansas State University, he averaged 20.7 points and 6.0 rebounds per game and was UPI, The Sporting News and USBWA Second Team All-America in 1988.

For all the feel good vibes about the Bay Area connections, I wonder how Hardaway and Richmond – if inducted – will be remembered. After all, both players found greater success beyond the confines of Golden State (another Warriors teammate of theirs -- Sarunas Marciulionis -- is going to the Hall as a direct elect for international players).

Hardaway played seven seasons with Golden State and Richmond only spent three years there. In contrast, Chris Mullin donned the Warriors jersey for 13 years.

The Miami Heat retired Hardaway’s #10 while Richmond’s #23 was retired by Kansas State and his #2 was retired by the Sacramento Kings. Rooney Marciulionis is in for his contributions to the achievements of the former USSR squad and the Lithuanian national team.

But maybe it’s not so bad. After all, Run-TMC was together for the briefest of NBA moments. But what a memory it is.