General Admission
RSA is secret of Cone’s success
By Al S. Mendoza
HISTORY was rewritten in the just-ended PBA (Philippine Basketball Association) Season 39.
San Mig Coffee won on Wednesday the coveted Grand Slam, a sweep of all three conferences staked for the year.
This was after San Mig Coffee had defeated Rain or Shine 82-79 in the deciding Game 5 of their race-to-three series for the PBA Governors’ Cup.
Not only was SMC’s crown retained but San Miguel Corp. also became only the second conglomerate to win two Grand Slams since the PBA’s birth in 1975.
Crispa was the first to do the trick, when it won the first Grand Slam in 1976 and duplicated it in 1983.
San Miguel Beer won the league’s third Grand Slam in 1989 and then Alaska captured the last Grand Slam in 1996 before San Mig Coffee’s historic victory on July 9.
San Mig Coffee’s Grand Slam feat had a happy twist since the coach who made it possible was Tim Cone.
In victory, Cone became the first coach to win two Grand Slams, adding his triumph with Alaska in 1996.
It took 18 years to break the Grand Slam drought, thanks in no small measure to Cone.
But unknown to many, it was a masterpiece of a stroke when Ramon S. Ang lured Cone to San Miguel.
Grizzled fans couldn’t believe their eyes when in 2012 they saw Cone abandon Alaska, his home since he started PBA coaching in 1989.
They just thought Cone’s 23 years with Alaska would not be dumped so easily, not to mention it could have meant the breakup of the friendship between Cone and Alaska owner Steven Uytengsu.
The two, both in their fifties now, have been friends since they were kids.
What was the secret of Ang, RSA to those close to him and who is President and CEO of San Miguel Corp., in dismantling the Cone-Uytengsu partnership nobody knows to this day. Not even Cone’s wife knows.
But that has always been an RSA trademark.
He does things differently and each time you review the results, he comes up very immensely successful.
The recent San Mig Coffee Grand Slam win is another proof to that.
Thus, if Cone is now way ahead of the pack in coaching matters, it has been largely credited now to RSA, the man who lives by the rule, “There is no limit to greatness.”
Look, with his recent victory, Cone has stretched his winning record to 18 PBA titles, the most by anyone in the business.
His Triple Crown feat is even a “four-peat” now.
Before his Grand Slam, Cone also piloted San Mig Coffee to victory in the league’s last conference in 2013—the Governors’ Cup.
At this stage, Cone has become unstoppable.
And if there’s one man who can stop his rampage, it can only be RSA.
But will RSA be foolish enough to release Cone?
Only the insane will slay the goose that lays a golden egg.
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