Tim Cone is very thankful to the members of his Barangay Ginebra coaching staff for making his job easy.
Cone said his lieutenants have done a remarkable job covering the bases for him, in the process easing the pressure off his shoulder and allowing him to focus on his mission as coach Gilas Pilipinas.
The PBA's most decorated coach attempts to complete his mission Tuesday as the Nationals look to win the country's 13th straight gold medal in the Southeast Asian Games' men's basketball competition.
Tim Cone and his Gilas Pilipinas battle Thailand in the finals of the biennial event.
"It's not been easy, but I have a lot of support from my two staffs," said Cone, specifically mentioning assistant coach Olsen Racela and head of analytics Patrick Partosa.
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"Coach Olsen has been handling the Ginebra practices and has been our lead scout for the draft along with Patrick Partosa who is head of our analytics. That has allowed Richard (Del Rosario), Coach Kirk (Collier) and myself to stay focused on Gilas," he added.
In Sunday's PBA Rookie Draft, Ginebra selected former Far Eastern University standout Arvin Tolentino in the first round before netting Jerrick Balanza of Letran in the second round.
The Kings also picked Kent Salado in the second round and Fran Asuncion in the third.
Cone returns as full-time coach of Ginebra after Tuesday's SEAG finale.
Ginebra opens its semifinal series against NorthPort on Saturday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
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"As I've said earlier, we're all just focused on landing one plane at a time," said Cone. (JT)
