After coaching Yap, Cone looks forward to handling 'Kobe-like' Caguioa

Tim Cone is back to square one in terms of building rapport with players after being appointed as the new coach of Barangay Ginebra San Miguel.

 

Among the Gin Kings, the two-time Grand Slam coach is only familiar with LA Tenorio and Mac Baracael, his former players back in his Alaska days.

 

He is pretty unacquainted with the rest of lineup on a personal level, but there is one name in particular that he wants to meet first: Mark Caguioa, the long-time face of the franchise.

 

"I'm excited to know who Mark Caguioa is, what kind of guy he's like," Cone told reporters during Monday's press conference announcing his new position.

 

The 57-year-old coach thought it best to start with the team's resident superstar in getting to know the players, recalling having to do the same with James Yap when he first came to the Star Hotshots franchise.

 

"I only knew (Yap) with the Kris Aquino stuff," he confessed, drawing laughs from reporters. "I didn't know his personality, what kind of person he was. That was a scary thing coming in."

 

Cone said he knew Yap as an unstoppable force on the court before he coached him, and the coach has a similar opinion on Caguioa, who he compared to Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant.

 

"He's a Kobe-like guy. We can play him at the wing - not the guard position but we can play him at the wing. He can create a lot of damage from those positions," he said.

 

Caguioa has been playing under the run-and-gun system for Ginebra, but Cone said The Spark is a "real triangle guy."

 

The coach said he is also looking forward to talk to the other players Chris Ellis, Sol Mercado, Greg Slaughter, Japeth Aguilar, and the rest of the roster and hopefully get them on the same page especially on the defensive system.

 

"It's always a process to get the buy in going with the players," he said. " I'm looking forward to the challenge." —JST, GMA News