Racela, Abarrientos tasked to run Kings
RJ Abarrientos makes his uncle, PBA great Johnny Abarrientos, proud after leading Barangay Ginebra to the Commissioner’s Cup title last Wednesday
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF RJ ABARRIENTOS/IG
Barangay Ginebra head coach Tim Cone leaves the Kings’ preparations for the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Season 50 Governors’ Cup semifinals in the capable hands of deputies Olsen Racela and Johnny Abarrientos.
Although Ginebra has over three weeks to prepare before meeting defending champion TNT in a best-of-five series starting 4 December, Cone won’t be able to oversee training as he shifts his focus to Gilas Pilipinas’ participation in the 2027 World Cup Asian Qualifier late this month.
Cone and top guard Scottie Thompson fly to Malaysia on 21 November to join the rest of the overseas-based Gilas members, days before facing Syria on the 27th followed by a rematch against Iran two days later.
“Well, I'm not going to be focused too much on it right now because I've got Gila's duties coming up first,” said Cone, whose squad went the full five games in the quarterfinals series against San Miguel Beer.
“Unlike all the other teams, they're all going to have an opportunity to rest and prepare and we're not going to have that opportunity with Ginebra, at least with, you know, not a full team. I'll be gone, Richard (Del Rosario) will be gone, a lot of our staff will be gone, Scottie will be gone.”
While Cone and his Gilas deputy Del Rosario are gone, Racela and Abarrientos will take care of priming up Ginebra in a rematch of last year’s finals against the Rondae Hollis-Jefferson-led Tropang 5G.
“Right now, I've got to change my hat from PBA to Gilas and so I'm going to leave that with Coach Olsen and Coach Johnny. They’re the ones that are going to help prepare the team at this point,” Cone said.
The Kings are taking a little break after a grueling quarters series – the only pairing that went to a decider – where they nearly squandered a 0-2 lead.
Ginebra finished off the Beermen, 110-94, after coming back from a 13-point third-quarter deficit last Tuesday at the Ynares Center-Antipolo.
TNT swept Magnolia to advance to the semis.
Cone and Thompson will return at the end of the month, giving them just a couple of days to reintegrate with the Kings.
“I'm going to come in on the 2nd and then see if I can get caught up and go to work. That's the sacrifice that we make, that Ginebra as an organization makes for the Gilas team, and it's a tough one,” Cone said.