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Being inside the PBA Bubble in Pampanga means that players and coaches will be left without their usual perks and amenities. The routines that have remained constant and essential throughout their careers will have to be changed.
For Barangay Geneva coach Tim Cone, proof of that detachment was evident in his match day outfit. Usually walking down the bench in their trademark long sleeves and ties, the rest of their staff donned simple black polo shirts during the first game of the 2020 season on Sunday against NLEX. Cone has worn a shirt and tie since starting his career with Alaska in 1989.
“We debated about it. But we came here for two and a half months and we had to bring like 15 ties and 15 polo shirts and dress shoes, and it was too much to do all that,” Victoria de Ginebra said after 102-92 against the Road Warriors . “It’s different. I used to do it not because it’s comfortable to wear a tie, it’s just the fact that I feel like I should be working.”
Cone said he didn’t wear a tie when he trained in the All-Star Game and the Southeast Asian Games in Manila last year, “but in the PBA in the last 30 years, I think this may be the first time that ‘I don’t wear a tie. in an official match “.
“We’re going to wear black because I look fat when I’m wearing the other color,” Cone joked. “Black is the color that would make me look kind of decent. I forced all my other coaches to wear black. I’m 99.9% sure that when we go back to normal conference, I’ll put my tie back on.”
He likes? Probably not. But there are more important things to think about, like real basketball, for example.
“We do what we have to do, right? This is where we are. We just have to do what we have to do and that has been our philosophy from the beginning,” he said. “It’s our passion to play basketball, so when you have the opportunity to do what you are happy to do, you will overlook some of the discomfort you have to do your thing.”
The players, or at least those within the Geneva field, have taken that separation from reality in stride, although Cone said there are still certain adjustments that will have to be made as the Philippine Cup moves through the bubble. The most obvious difference is playing in empty venues with no fans, a marked handicap for a beloved Geneva franchise that is used to playing in front of loud fans.
“It’s different. There is no crowd. So we have to tell our bench to stay engaged and lively. We are our own crowd,” Cone said. “I think that’s the biggest adjustment for us right now, trying to generate excitement and encouragement as the game unfolds. Before they gave it to us, now we have to generate it ourselves.”
However, that kind of energy can’t come from the regular guys who ride the handstand, as Cone apparently asked the team leaders for more to contribute when they’re not playing on the court.
“It’s really about remembering that the bench itself has to be engaged, the guys that aren’t playing. And we’re talking about the leaders,” Cone said. “Leaders have to do that. When Japeth [Aguilar] comes out of the ground, when LA [Tenorio] get up off the ground, Stanley [Pringle]They need to stay engaged with their teammates and make sure they are cheering for their teammates. You can’t trust our three rookies to be the entertainers. “
At the top of that agenda is franchise star Mark Caguioa, who has spent most of the past few seasons playing limited minutes off the bench for Cone and Geneva.
“As Mark Caguioa always reminds us, there are still millions of fans watching us, and we have a responsibility to make sure we do our best,” Cone said. “Although we did not play a nice game, we played a tough game and we won it for the fans.”
Another adjustment that is perhaps more important than anything else is recovery time, especially for Aguilar and Tenorio. The star duo visibly battled NLEX: Aguilar scored seven points on nine shots, while Tenorio scored one and missed all four shot attempts, in part because they both arrived just days before the first game of the season.
“We’re not in good shape, there’s no question about it,” Cone said. “Especially guys like Japeth and LA, who haven’t been in any activity for the last two weeks … I think they’ll need a week or maybe two before they are in top form.”
Time is not an ally. Although teams still skip the routine of back-to-back games, the usual break on offer is not available as the elimination round is compressed to one month.
But it’s like Cone with her ties: everyone will have to live without her.
“Recovery will be crucial for everyone, and that’s what we need to focus on in the days ahead so that we can have the energy to get back into practice and work hard, build habits and be ready to play Blackwater,” Cone said. .
