Tim Cone

Earl Timothy Cone (born December 14, 1957) is an American professional basketball coach who is the head coach of Barangay Ginebra San Miguel in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).

He is the most accomplished coach in PBA history with twenty-five (25) titles including two (2) Grand Slams, five (5) Coach of the Year awards, and the winningest coach of the League, tallying more than a thousand (1,000) games won.

Cone was a proponent of the triangle offense.

Cone was born in the United States and grew up in Oregon.

He moved to the Philippines 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, Aurora and later moved to the International School Manila.

Cone returned to the United States when he was 18 years old to study at Menlo College in California and the George Washington University in Washington D.C. After graduating from college, Cone worked in a bank in San Francisco before returning to the Philippines at age 24.

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 ruled against General Milling Corporation, Cone's corporate employer, in April 1991.

He was temporarily replaced that time by assistant coach Chot Reyes.

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, 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 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 and Allan Caidic.

That team won a bronze medal in the 1998 Asian Games in Bangkok, Thailand.

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 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, 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.

Terms of the contract were not disclosed.

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.

On October 25, 2013, the Llamados, under Cone's tutelage, won the PBA Governors' Cup championship, after beating Petron Blaze Boosters.

This was Cone's 14th title, and his first with B-Meg.