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Earl Timothy Cone (born December 14, 1957) is an American professional
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
coach who is the head coach of Barangay Ginebra San Miguel in the
Philippine Basketball Association The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines composed of twelve company-branded franchised teams. Founded in 1975, it is the first professional basketball league in Asia and is the se ...
(PBA). He is the most accomplished coach in PBA history with twenty-four (24) titles, including two (2) Grand Slams, four (4) Coach of the Year awards, and the winningest coach of the league tallying more than one thousand (1000) games won. He is a proponent of the triangle offense.


Early life and education

Cone was born in the United States and grew up in
Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idah ...
. He moved to the
Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
when he was nine years old after his father came to the country to work in the logging industry. Cone studied in a public elementary school in
Baler A baler or hay baler is a piece of farm machinery used to compress a cut and raked crop (such as hay, cotton, flax straw, salt marsh hay, or silage) into compact bales that are easy to handle, transport, and store. Often, bales are configu ...
,
Aurora An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...
and later moved to the
International School Manila International School Manila (abbreviation: ISM) is a private, non-profit, non-sectarian international school located in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig, Metro Manila, Philippines. Founded in 1920 as the American School by a group of American and Bri ...
. Cone returned to the United States when he was 18 years old to study at the
Menlo College Menlo College is a private college specializing in business and is located in Atherton, California. Campus Menlo College is situated on 45-acre (0.18 km2) campus in Atherton, California, 25 miles southeast of San Francisco and 20 miles nort ...
in
California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...
and the
George Washington University , mottoeng = "God is Our Trust" , established = , type = Private federally chartered research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.8 billion (2022) , presi ...
in Washington D.C. After graduating from college, Cone worked in a bank in San Francisco before returning to the Philippines at age 24.


Coaching career


Club


Alaska Milk (1989–2011)

In 1989, Cone took over as the coach of the Alaska Air Force with players such as the famed Bruise Brothers duo of Yoyoy Villamin and Ricky Relosa, and Abet Guidaben. A year later, Cone led the Air Force to the finals of the 1990 PBA Third Conference. Alaska blew a 2–0 lead in the best-of-five series to suffer one of the biggest collapses in PBA history, losing to Purefoods in five games. Cone was barred from coaching in the 1991 PBA All-Filipino Conference due to a February 1990 case filed by the Basketball Coaches Association of the Philippines questioning the alien employment permit given to Cone by the Department of Labor and Employment. The group's complaints stemmed from Article 40 of the Labor Code that only allows the hiring of a foreigner only after determining that no Philippine resident is competent, able, and willing to perform services at the time of application. The
Supreme Court of the Philippines The Supreme Court ( fil, Kataas-taasang Hukuman; colloquially referred to as the ''Korte Suprema'' lso used in formal writing is the highest court in the Philippines. The Supreme Court was established by the Second Philippine Commission on J ...
ruled against General Milling Corporation, Cone's corporate employer, in April 1991. Cone was able to return to PBA coaching when he gained permanent resident status after his August 1991 marriage to Filipina girlfriend Cristina Viaplana. Cone and Alaska won their first championship by defeating Ginebra San Miguel in the 1991 Third Conference. That team was led by Jojo Lastimosa, Eugene Quilban and Bong Alvarez. After several struggles, Cone's team would have a strong group of locals
Lastimosa Lastimosa is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Carlo Lastimosa (born 1990), Filipino basketball player * Jojo Lastimosa (born 1964), Filipino basketball player * Leo Lastimosa Leo Andanar Lastimosa (born September 26, 1964) ...
, Johnny Abarrientos, Bong Hawkins, Jeffrey Cariaso and Poch Juinio, while having import Sean Chambers for the Milkmen. From 1994 to 1998, the Milkmen won eight titles in 14 conferences during the stretch. The highlight of that run, though, would come in the 1996 season when Alaska won the coveted PBA Grand Slam, becoming the third franchise and the fourth team to win a Grand Slam in the history of the league. While Alaska continued to dominate by adding Kenneth Duremdes in 1997. Duremdes, playing a limited role with the Pop Cola franchise, rose up to the occasion in 1998 under Cone's tutelage, winning the
PBA Most Valuable Player Award The Philippine Basketball Association Most Valuable Player (MVP) is an annual Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) award given since the start of the league in 1975 to the best performing player of the season. The award is decided using criter ...
at 24 years of age. That year, Cone was hired as the coach of the Philippine Centennial Team led by Duremdes, Abarrientos, Lastimosa, three players on Cone's Alaska team, and PBA stars Alvin Patrimonio, Marlou Aquino,
Vergel Meneses Vergel Corpuz Meneses (born January 14, 1969) is a Filipino retired professional basketball player and a politician, serving as mayor of the municipality of Bulakan, Bulacan. He previously played in the Philippine Basketball Association and ...
and Allan Caidic. That team won a bronze medal in the
1998 Asian Games The 1998 Asian Games (), officially known as the 13th Asian Games and the XIII Asiad, was an Asian multi-sport event celebrated in Bangkok, Thailand from December 6 to 20, 1998, with 377 events in 36 sports and disciplines participated by 6,554 ...
in
Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populatio ...
,
Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...
. Alaska won the 2000 All-Filipino Cup, but afterwards, the team faced rebuilding and traded away several remnants of the old Alaska. Cone, however, would lead the young team of John Arigo and Ali Peek to runner-up finishes in the 2002 Governors' and All-Filipino Cup. A year later, the Aces added UAAP star Mike Cortez and Brandon Cablay, leading Alaska to the
2003 PBA Invitational Cup The 2003 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Samsung-Invitational Championship, was the second conference of the 2003 PBA season. It started on July 27 and ended on August 23, 2003. The tournament features three guest foreign teams from Korea, ...
championship, Cone's 11th title. On July 17, 2006, Manila Standard reported that after his 17 years of service Alaska is set to terminate Cone depending on a meeting between both parties after Cone's contract with the Aces expired on July 15. Rumors also speculated that his replacement will be his former assistant, former National team mentor
Chot Reyes Vincent "Chot" P. Reyes (born August 1, 1963) is a Filipino basketball head coach for the TNT Tropang Giga for the Philippine Basketball Association. He is also the head coach of the Philippine national basketball team, where he led the team to ...
, with Cone staying on as team consultant. However, a day later, the Aces' official website reported that Cone has agreed to a new deal to stay on as the team's head coach for the
2006–07 PBA season The 2006–07 PBA season was the 32nd season of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). The season started September 28 in Guam and began its formal opening on October 1 at the Araneta Coliseum, and ended on July 20. The league started the se ...
. Terms of the contract were not disclosed.


Purefoods (2011–2015)

On September 1, 2011, Alaska team owner Wilfred Uytengsu announced that it has "released Tim Cone as head coach of the Alaska Aces" after his 22 years of service for the Alaska Aces. Uytengsu remarked that Cone requested to be released a week earlier. Cone was quick to deny in a press conference that he is set to coach B-Meg Llamados, another PBA team. On September 14, 2011, Tim Cone was at the B-Meg Llamados practice that day and was introduced as the new head coach. He tapped former Alaska players Johnny Abarrientos and Jeffrey Cariaso as assistant coaches. The two new assistant coaches were joined by current assistant coach Koy Banal. On May 6, 2012, the Llamados won the 2012 PBA Commissioner's Cup championship 4–3 over defending champion
Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters The TNT Tropang Giga is a professional basketball team currently owned by Smart Communications, a subsidiary of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT), playing in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) since 1990. The fra ...
. This was Cone's 14th title, and his first with B-Meg. On October 25, 2013, the Llamados, under Cone's tutelage, won the PBA Governors Cup championship, after beating Petron Blaze Boosters. By winning the season-ending best-of-seven series 4–3, the former Purefoods ballclub won its second championship over the last five conferences and more importantly the 15th career title for Cone, putting the veteran coach in the company of the great Baby Dalupan at the top of the all-time list. On February 26, 2014, Cone won his 16th PBA title as he guided the Mixers to their 11th title against the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters. They beat the E-Painters in six games. With this win, he broke legendary Baby Dalupan's record. On May 15, 2014, San Mig Coffee Mixers beat the Talk N' Text Tropang Texters in Game 4 of best-of-five series, where San Mig earned the chance to capture the rare Grand Slam. This championship gave Tim Cone his 17th PBA title. He clinched his 18th title, and again made history by being the first mentor to win two Grand Slams after he steered San Mig Coffee to become Grand Slam Champions while accomplishing four straight championships and grabbing the 2014 Governor's Cup title.


Barangay Ginebra San Miguel

On July 20, 2015, San Miguel Corporation president Ramon Ang confirmed the appointment of Cone as the new head coach of Barangay Ginebra San Miguel. The reassignment of Cone will seek to end the curse of Ginebra which last won in the 2008 Fiesta Conference. On October 4, 2016, Cone led Brgy. Ginebra to its first Finals appearance since 2013. Ginebra defeated sister team San Miguel Beermen in a do or die Game 5, 117–92. Ginebra went on to face the Meralco Bolts in the Finals and winning in six games (4–2), giving the team its first championship after 8 years of drought. Cone later led Ginebra to five more championships. On November 18, 2022, he recorded his 1000th win, the most wins for a PBA coach.


National team

Tim Cone has led the Philippine men's national basketball team as its head coach. He guided the Philippine Centennial Team to a bronze medal at the
1998 Asian Games The 1998 Asian Games (), officially known as the 13th Asian Games and the XIII Asiad, was an Asian multi-sport event celebrated in Bangkok, Thailand from December 6 to 20, 1998, with 377 events in 36 sports and disciplines participated by 6,554 ...
. Prior to that, the national team under Cone's watch had a training camp in the U.S. and won the 1998 William Jones Cup. In September 2019, he was appointed head coach of the national team again for at least the
2019 Southeast Asian Games The 2019 Southeast Asian Games, officially known as the 30th Southeast Asian Games, or the 30th SEA Games, and commonly known as Philippines 2019, was the 30th edition of the Southeast Asian Games, a biennial regional multi-sport event which ...
following the resignation of Yeng Guiao following the Philippines poor performance in the
2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup The 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup was the 18th tournament of the FIBA Basketball World Cup for men's national basketball teams. The tournament was hosted in China and was rescheduled from 2018 to 2019, becoming the first since 1967 that did not ...
.


Personal life

Tim Cone is married to Cristina Viaplana, a Filipino, since August 1991 after dating for seven years. Cone's daughter works in the United States as of 2019. He can also speak Filipino although he prefers to speak in English in press conferences.


List of PBA championships

24× PBA champion, 36× Finals appearances in Alaska Franchise (13): * 1991 Third Conference * 1994 Governors' * 1995 Governors' * 1996 All-Filipino * 1996 Commissioner's * 1996 Governors' * 1997 Governors' * 1998 All-Filipino * 1998 Commissioner's * 2000 All-Filipino * 2003 Invitational * 2007 Fiesta * 2010 Fiesta in Purefoods Franchise (5): * 2012 Commissioner's * 2013 Governors' * 2013–14 Philippine * 2014 Commissioner's * 2014 Governors' in Barangay Ginebra San Miguel (6): * 2016 Governors' * 2017 Governors' * 2018 PBA Commissioner's * 2019 Governors' * 2020 Philippine * 2021 Governors'


PBA Head Coaching record

, - , align="left" , Alaska Aces , align="left" , 2009–10 , 62, , 39, , 23, , .629 , , align="center", Lost 2010 Philippine Cup Finals
Won 2010 Fiesta Conference Finals , - , align="left" , Alaska Aces , align="left" , 2010–11 , 42, , 22, , 20, , .524 , , align="center", Lost 2011 Philippine Cup Quarterfinals Round
Lost 2011 Commissioner's Cup Quarterfinals Round
Lost 2011 Governors' Cup Semifinals round , - , align="left" , B-Meg Llamados , align="left" , 2011–12 , 62, , 38, , 24, , .613 , , align="center", Lost 2012 Philippine Cup Quarterfinals Round
Won 2012 Commissioner's Cup Finals
Lost 2013 Governors' Cup Finals , - , align="left" , San Mig Super Coffee Mixers , align="left" , 2012–13 , 64, , 38, , 26, , .594 , , align="center", Lost 2013 Philippine Cup Semifinals Round
Lost 2013 Commissioner's Cup Semifinals Round
Won 2013 Governors' Cup Finals , - , align="left" , San Mig Super Coffee Mixers , align="left" , 2013–14 , 71, , 41, , 30, , .577 , , align="center", Won 2014 Philippine Cup Finals
Won 2014 Commissioner's Cup Finals
Won 2014 Governors' Cup Finals , - , align="left" , Star Hotshots , align="left" , 2014–15 , 45, , 24, , 21, , .533 , , align="center", Lost 2015 Philippine Cup Quarterfinals round
Lost 2015 Commissioner's Cup Semifinals round
Lost 2015 Governors' Cup Semifinals round , - , align="left" , Barangay Ginebra , align="left" , 2015–16 , 49, , 31, , 18, , .633 , , align="center", Lost 2016 Philippine Cup Quarterfinals round
Lost 2016 Commissioner's Cup Quarterfinals round
Won 2016 Governors' Cup Finals , - , align="left" , Barangay Ginebra , align="left" , 2016–17 , 64, , 40, , 24, , .625 , , align="center", Lost 2017 Philippine Cup Finals
Lost 2017 Commissioner's Cup Semifinals round
Won 2017 Governors' Cup Finals , - , align="left" , Barangay Ginebra , align="left" , 2017–18 , 57, , 35, , 22, , .614 , , align="center", Lost in 2018 Philippine Cup Semifinals round
Won 2018 Commissioner's Cup Finals
Lost in 2018 Governor's Cup Semifinals round , - , align="left" , Barangay Ginebra , align="left" , 2018–19 , 52, , 33, , 19, , .635 , , align="center", Lost in 2019 Philippine Cup Quarterfinals round
Lost in 2019 Commissioner's Cup Semifinals round
Won 2019 Governors' Cup Finals , - , align="left" , Barangay Ginebra , align="left" , 2020 , 22, , 16, , 6, , .727 , , align="center", Won 2020 Philippine Cup Finals , -class="sortbottom" , align="center" colspan=2, Career, , 590, , , 357, , , 233, , .6051, ,


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cone, Tim 1957 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in the Philippines American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Oregon Basketball players from Oregon George Washington University alumni Menlo Oaks men's basketball players Alaska Aces (PBA) coaches Philippine Basketball Association broadcasters Philippines men's national basketball team coaches People from Aurora (province) Magnolia Hotshots coaches Barangay Ginebra San Miguel coaches