PBA: Is Cone better than 'The Maestro'?

When the San Mig Coffee Mixers won their sixth PBA Philippine Cup on Wednesday, over the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, history was made. Earl Timothy Cone broke a tie with Virgilio “Baby” Dalupan for the most championships won in the league. This was an accomplishment that most thought was insurmountable when Dalupan ended his PBA coaching career in the early 90s. Yet today, Tim Cone, the American whom Dalupan himself defeated for his final title while coach of Purefoods, now owns 16 championships.

The wizardry of the Maestro

Dalupan has long been known in local basketball annals as “The Maestro.” Whether coaching in the old NCAA (for his alma mater, Ateneo de Manila), the UAAP (for the University of the East), the pre-PBA Manila Industrial and Commercial Athletic Association (MICAA), and the PBA itself, Dalupan always found ways to win. In an era before more scientific techniques were used to map out plays, “Baby D” would work his magic with a veritable who’s who of Philippine basketball legends.

Just consider some of the names who have all played under Dalupan: Atoy Co, Philip Cezar, Abet Guidaben, Bernie Fabiosa, Freddie Hubalde, Bogs Adornado, Ricardo Brown, Abe King, Arnie Tuadles, Allan Caidic, Jojo Lastimosa, Alvin Patrimonio, Jerry Codiñera, Nelson Asaytono, Dindo Pumaren. He coached the famed Crispa Redmanizers to the first ever PBA Grand Slam in 1976 and came close to scoring another when Great Taste Coffee won the first two PBA championships of the 1985 season.

In a strange twist of fate, Dalupan won his final PBA title coaching a young Purefoods Hotdogs squad in 1990 after being down 0-2 in the best-of-five Finals of the Reinforced Conference. The team Purefoods defeated was Alaska Milk, coached by a then-35-year-old Tim Cone.

The case for Cone

For his part, Cone would carve out his own niche in PBA lore. Starting his career with Alaska in 1989, he implemented the famed triangle or triple post offense of Phil Jackson and Tex Winter. Assembling a core of Jojo Lastimosa, Johnny Abarrientos, Bong Hawkins, Edward Juinio, Jeffrey Cariaso, and import Sean Chambers, the Milkmen would win their own Grand Slam in 1996. He helped Abarrientos win a Most Valuable Player plum that same year, and when Kenneth Duremdes was added, unleashed the potential that made “Captain Marbel” an MVP two years later.

As his Alaska core aged, Cone, team manager Joaqui Trillo, and team owner Fred Uytengsu were able to rebuild the squad several times over. Adding and losing players like Mike Cortez, Brandon Cablay, Ali Peek, Reynel Hugnatan, LA Tenorio, Larry Fonacier, and Cyrus Baguio, Cone proved that it was his system and coaching, not just the talented players, that won titles.

After claiming 13 titles with Alaska over 23 years, he made the surprising move to B-MEG, the name that Dalupan’s old Purefoods team took up. Already deep in talent with James Yap, Marc Pingris, and PJ Simon as his core, installing the triangle offense made the team even more dangerous. Even another name change to San Mig Coffee did not stop Cone from winning three more titles, eclipsing The Maestro’s old record.
 

Compare and contrast - Tim Cone versus Baby Dalpuan:
 

Compare and contrast

So the question has been floated around recently: is Tim Cone a better coach than Baby Dalupan?

If we’re strictly talking numbers here, Dalupan still emerges the winner because his championships go beyond the walls of the PBA. Even Coach Tim is amazed with the sheer number of professional and amateur titles that his idol amassed. Both mentors though have proven that they can manage big egos of superstars and turn their rosters, no matter the composition, into contenders and eventual winners.

Perhaps the most noticeable difference between them is the way they coached. Dalupan was famous for not having a set starting lineup throughout his decades of coaching. He always coached based on “feel” of the game in a time that few plays were called and the plays that were used were relatively simple. Coach Baby’s Crispa and Great Taste teams were famously explosive on offense, and in the run-and-gun days of the 70s and 80s, they flourished.

Cone is one of the first coaches to advocate attending coaching clinics abroad, even as he adapted the triple post offense for the local league. Just as Dalupan earned praise for his offense, Cone’s trademark has always been defense. Nobody could ever accuse Dalupan’s teams of being boring, but Cone, because of the efficiency of the triangle and the business-like demeanor of his 90s Alaska teams, were sometimes criticized this way.
 
[Related: Tim Cone is today's Baby Dalupan]

Spheres of influence

Dalupan’s partnership with Crispa owner and team manager Danny Floro is the stuff of legend. With Floro at his side and taking care of the players’ whims, Dalupan could focus on the games at hand. After Crispa disbanded, Floro’s place by Dalupan’s side was ably filled by Great Taste team manager Ignacio Gotao. However, though two of his former players, Atoy Co and Philip Cezar, have tried their hand at coaching, neither has achieved the success that their old coach did.

This might be one of the clearer examples of Cone’s greatness. The list of former Cone lieutenants who have become champion mentors in their own right includes Aric del Rosario, Joel Banal, current Alaska coach Luigi Trillo, and perhaps most famous of all, Gilas-Pilipinas’ own Chot Reyes. Each of these men will almost assuredly give some of the credit for their coaching know-how and aptitude to their old boss.

The truth of the matter is that this argument can never truly be settled. Coach Baby’s time in the PBA sun ended almost two decades ago and that style of basketball is long gone. Today’s scientific, precise, defense-oriented league is where Coach Tim currently thrives. No amount of daydreaming or fantasizing will give us a decisive answer because each man’s brilliance in their respective eras set the standard for all to be measured by.

Perhaps the best tribute anyone can pay the 90-year-old Maestro now comes from the man who has just surpassed his PBA record. “No one will ever surpass Baby as the greatest,” said Cone after San Mig Coffee’s win. “I’m thrilled that I’m able to bring Baby Dalupan’s name back into the consciousness of the young ones. He is the father of all coaches and I’m really proud to have my name mentioned with him.” - AMD, GMA News