Cone sees tough task ahead

Alaska coach Tim Cone said that meeting either defending champion Talk ’N Text or Barangay Ginebra in the Final Four is no easy job since he considers both teams as dangerous.

The Aces are now waiting which of the two they will face after advancing outright to the semis. They gained that bonus after emerging as the No. 1 team at the end of the classification phase in the KFC-PBA Philippine Cup.

The Gin Kings and the Tropang Texters clash in a best-of-five quarterfinal series starting on Friday.

“Ginebra or Talk n Text? Neither is an attractive opponent in a best of seven series,” said Cone. "But there is never an easy opponent in the semis.”

Purefoods will face Rain or Shine, in the other quarters’ pairing. The winner takes on powerhouse team San Miguel Beer in the semis.

Alaska had contrasting results against Ginebra and TNT.

The Aces split their two games with the Kings – with the former winning in the first round, 105-96, but the latter bounced back with a 93-90 victory last January 9.

But had a perfect record against the Texters whom they beat 110-106 last November 20 and 119-113 last December 16.

With a long lay-off, Cone’s concern for now is how to keep the Aces, led by former two-time Most Valuable Player (MVP) Willie Miller, in top form

“We’ve always been known as a great practice team. We always have great practices where the players work really hard. We have to get back to that to be ready for the semi-final,” said Cone, whose team lost to TNT in last season’s Philippine Cup Finals.

Alaska is looking to end a 10-year title drought in an all-Filipino conference.

The last time it won the title was against Purefoods.

The Aces clinched the last outright semis seat with a 95-94 win over Rain or Shine last week that propelled them on top of the standings. Alaska actually matched SMB’s 13-5 win-loss card but the Aces won twice against the Beermen in the classification, thus earning the top spot.

According to Cone, earning that automatic slot in the Final Four has also an advantage, saying: “It’s really a huge advantage when you make to the semis outright.”

“You will have more time to prepare mentally and physically,” he said.

Source: Waylon Galvez  | Manila Bulletin