Cone honored to work on Christmas Day

Tim Cone considers his work on Christmas Day as a huge blessing as his Barangay Ginebra San Miguel clashes with TNT Tropang Giga in the Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner's Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Cone, the winningest mentor in league history, said he is honored to report for work and coach the Kings on Christmas as it gives him a chance to make their fans happy and excited.

Since the league started playing on Christmas Day, Cone was among those who have been reporting for duty. He was at the sidelines when Alaska beat Coca-Cola, 78-63, to clinch the Philippine Cup title on Christmas Day of 2006.

"I don't think anybody likes playing on Christmas Day, but we also recognized it as an honor to be playing on Christmas Day. I talked to Erik Spoelstra about that. There are players who like playing on Christmas Day and in the NBA, it's an honor playing on Christmas Day," said Cone, who once served as an apprentice of Spoelstra at the Miami Heat.

Cone admitted that it wasn't easy to put players in the proper mindset during Christmas games, knowing that the occasion should be reserved for their respective families.

"You're playing primetime throughout the day and it's always a huge match up, a huge game. We're honored to play against TNT and I'm sure they're honored to play against us. It's difficult because of all the things going on through the day and in the preparation," Cone said.

"We have to practice on New Year's Eve and there's so many things going on, family-wise. It's hard to focus and we recognize that as a coaching staff. We have to understand where we want to get to in terms of the standings. We have to understand how important this game is against TNT on Monday."

Aside from winning a title on Christmas of 2006, Cone also witnessed the heroics of LA Tenorio when he nailed the game-winning three-pointer to give the Kings a 92-89 win over Star Hotshots in the Philippine Cup of 2015.

Tenorio just came out recently from semi-retirement after a nine-month bout with colon cancer and will play again on Christmas Day.