Cone sees tough title showdown

Source: (The Philippine Star)

MANILA, Philippines - Despite impressive form his team has dished out, Alaska Milk coach Tim Cone said they have a tough finals series coming versus either San Miguel Beer and Purefoods.

Cone said San Miguel is simply such a talent-laden squad while Purefoods is a team which gives Alaska problems on match-ups.

“Honestly, I want their series to go Game Seven and both end up beat-up, and hopefully we play similar basketball we showed in the Ginebra series,” said Cone.

“Either (team) would be a tough opponent. We played San Miguel in a practice game during the break and they ate us up right from the start. It’s a wake-up call that they’re deep and really scary. The last time we played Purefoods, they also gave us a real tough time. They’re really also a tough match-up for us,” Cone added.

Alaska beat Barangay Ginebra via a four-game sweep in their best-of-seven semifinals showdown, and Cone hopes they could ride the momentum for a good start in the finals.

“But definitely, we can’t be confident after this (semifinals versus Ginebra). It’s going to be a whole new different series,” Cone said.

Cone and his Aces are in their eighth all-Filipino finals with a crack at a fourth crown.

“I’ve been in the finals a bunch of time. I’ve been to all-Filipino finals two times in the last couple of years and we keep on losing. So we have a streak to break,” said Cone.

The veteran Alaska mentor, however, stressed they have a job cut out for them.

“Both (Purefoods and San Miguel) cause us a lot of problem. San Miguel with its incredibly tough lineup. We have a problem matching up with Mick Pennisi, a big man who shoots well from the outside. Arwind Santos is a hell of a match-up for any team and they have guys like Mike Cortez who works well with their system,” said Cone. – Nelson Beltran

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