MANILA – “Everything is different.”
This was how Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings head coach Tim Cone described their 2020 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup championship inside the AUF Sports Arena and Cultural Center bubble in Pampanga.
Aside from playing minus the legion of their fans, the Kings had to survive the rigorous schedule inside the bubble before clinching their first All-Filipino Conference championship since 2007.
“It’s a little bit of a surreal feeling being here. Everything is different. The celebration is different, the awarding is different. It’s just a very different experience. But our guys battled for this,” said Cone.
“There was so much out-of-the-box thinking that had to go into being successful here. I think you really had to think out of the box here. The experience is so different from the other championships you have,” he added.
“It’s so unique. When we get back to Manila, and we look back at this one, we will just be amazed at how this all evolved and how it came together and how we actually ended up winning a championship,” the 23-time PBA champion coach furthered.
The league was forced to play its 2020 season without spectators due to the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.
According to Cone, who won his other PBA titles during his coaching stint with Alaska Aces and Magnolia franchise, the great thing about Ginebra’s bubble crown was they went through the whole route just like they would in a pre-pandemic conference.
“Hopefully, there’s only going to be one bubble championship. And if there’s only one bubble championship, we got it. And that’s so cool,” Cone said.
“That’s why it’s amazing – went through a whole elimination period, went through a whole playoff and still was able to pull it out and win a championship. That is amazing, I think. It’s going to be remembered forever,” he added.
The Gin Kings captured the only championship in the 2020 PBA season following a 4-1 conquest of TNT Tropang Giga in their best-of-seven series./PN
