I was surprised to see Coach Tim Cone with a new team. I always thought that he would coach Alaska until he walked away from the game of basketball. Coach Tim Cone for me is the Phil Jackson of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA), and him, together with the Alaska Teams of 1996 and 1998 would always be my childhood sports heroes. Johnny Abarrientos, Jeffrey Cariaso, Bong Hawkins, Poch Juinio, and Jojo Lastimosa would be the epitome of a Philippine Team running the Triangle offense. Kenneth Duremdes would fill the athleticism much needed after the departure of Cariaso in 1997. And now, 2012, I see Abarrientos and Cariaso still teaming up with Cone as coaches in B-MEG.
Coach Tim Cone brings the much needed leadership to a young team like B-MEG. I've watched them place second to Talk and Text last conference. While they have the hunger and passion of most young teams, they lacked the fire power to match the almost All-Star like team of Talk and Text. I'm really surprised the Talk and Text team was able to afford all those big names on their team. Doesn't the PBA follow rules on salary cap? Or have these big named stars sacrificed salary for the opportunity to win championships. And Talk and Text is lucky to have Coach Chot Reyes, (probably my second favorite PBA coach ever since he showed how he could turn around a bottom-rung Coca-Cola Tigers team during the early 2000s). Reyes is a protege of sorts to Cone, and now is a formidable coaching rival. And last season, B-MEG did not have a leader that could match Reyes, nor the big-named stars that could match Alapag, Peak, Carey, Castro, Fonacier, etc. At least now, they have a mentor in Cone, and a star in Yap, and another offensive threat in Bowles.
Perhaps the need for a balance between stars and role players is what is making B-MEG successful at this point. The triangle offense seems to thrive under this formula too. Placing too much emphasis on stars, like the 2003-2004 Lakers team (Shaq, Kobe, Malone & Payton), can be as disastrous as a lack of stars. Having a high-profile coach in Cone allows B-MEG to have better influence on referee calls. Lets see how it all turns out as 2012 Commisioner's Cup comes to a close.
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