GRAND SLAM TALKIN’
After winning the last two conferences, San Mig Super Coffee coach Tim Cone felt like he was treading a familiar path.
After all, back in 1996 he won a Grand Slam with the Alaska Milkmen.
But as much as it sounds historic, Cone doesn’t want any of this to distract his wards.
“Winning the Grand Slam, the pressure builds the closer you get to it,” he said. “That’s the reason why we don’t talk about it, because it will give us extra pressure. I don’t want to feel that extra pressure and give the edge to Rain or Shine.”
As inevitable as it may seem, San Mig Super Coffee’s Grand Slam hunt is sure to take center stage when the Coffee Mixers clash with the Elasto Painters in the 2014 PLDT Home Telpad PBA Governors’ Cup Finals.
Game 1 will be played 8 p.m. Tuesday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Cone, already the league’s winningest coach, will be gunning for his 18th title, but it won’t be a walk in the park as he will have on the other side of the hardcourt none other than Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao.
“It’s always a tremendous challenge going against coach Yeng ’cause his team is always prepared,” Cone said in the Finals press conference at Sambokojin Eastwood on Monday. “I said it the last time we played and I think it’s a bigger compliment now as it was then, but I think the team I compare them to is the last team that won the NBA championship – I’ve always said they play like San Antonio. Whether they are up by 20 or down by 20, they play same way all the time. That’s our goal, what we’re trying to achieve in our team and they do that regularly.”
For his part, Guiao also doesn’t want to be blinded by the Grand Slam talks, as Rain or Shine is the last team in the way of San Mig’s shot at the history books.
“We’re not salivating on the thought of trying to spoil their Grand Slam. Right after our win against Alaska, I told my boys that we’re not trying to spoil any Grand Slam. Our goal is to win the championship on our own,” the Kapampangan coach said. “If it’s possible that they can win a Grand Slam and we can win a championship, I have no problem with that. Our purpose is to win a championship on our own and make our fans happy. We want to look at it that way.”
Rain or Shine will also look to atone for their Philippine Cup setback against San Mig, a series which they lost to the Coffee Mixers, 4-2.
“In terms of hunger and desire, we probably want it more, we desire it more. But the way San Mig is playing right now, they’re playing hard, it’s hard to take it away from them,” Guiao said. “There’s really no pressure on them. It is more on us, trying to follow up on the championship we won in 2012.”
The E-Painters edged the then-B-Meg Llamados in seven games in 2012 to win their maiden PBA championship, before the rebranded San Mig Coffee took the crown a season after.
“They have achieved a lot already. Kumbaga sa halo-halo, ito lang ang ice cream sa ibabaw para sa kanila, para lang maging special. Sa amin, wala pang halo-halo. Yelo pa lang.”
Win or lose, Cone said that he’s already proud of what his boys have accomplished, winning three straight championships and on their fourth straight Finals appearance.
“If we don’t win, we’ll be happy with what we accomplished. We are proud of ourselves. I don’t want us to be obsessed by it (Grand Slam),” Cone said.
“As a coach, you never get tired of winning championships. These guys over here, they have a once-in-a-lifetime situation. The fact that I’ve been able to be involved twice in this situation, it’s really a blessing and a real opportunity,” Cone said. “It’s fun to write about and talk to you about the Grand Slam, but we don’t want to talk about this ourselves.”
PBA commissioner Chito Salud also butted in, saying, “It’s a fitting finish that two of the top three most popular teams are playing in the Finals. I do realize that the players and coaches have sacrificed a lot this year for the national team.”
“What more can you ask for? Enjoy the Finals.” (RL)
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