San Mig Super Coffee's big three didn't complain about benching says Cone
In the fourth quarter of Game 2, San Mig Super Coffee head coach Tim Cone decided to sit out James Yap, PJ Simon, and Marc Pingris. The coach banked on a three guard lineup with Mark Barroca, Justin Melton, and Alex Mallari to get them back into the game. It worked for a short period but the Mixers fell short.
Some disgruntled fans pinned the loss on Cone’s refusal to put Simon and Yap back in the game. Pingris checked back in with less than three minutes left but he committed a crucial turnover that did not help their cause.
After their big Game 3 win, Cone explained exactly what happened and how it affected their chemistry.
“You know, I try to treat those three guys, if I may like [Tim] Duncan, [Manu] Ginobili, and [Tony] Parker,” Cone said. “Same with those three guys, I do with my three guys. I've got a good second group, but it looks like those guys struggled tonight because they've been going at it for so long then I'm going to give them a rest. But when it comes down to it, big game like this, we're going to rely on those guys and they know that.”
Asked if the benching was an issue for any of the three players, Cone said it wasn’t.
“Ping, PJ and James didn't say a word about last game. They just came into practice. They knew they were going to start the next game,” he explained. “They knew they were going to play the major minutes the next game. I just feel like after winning a couple of championships with this team, we have a lot of trust. They trust me to make the right decisions for them.”
Cone went on to explain the rationale behind the benching. He even went as far as apologizing to the fans of the three players.
“When I take them out of the game and don't play them for certain stretches when we're behind and I allow the second group to try to come back, I'm not doing it for the team. I'm actually doing it for [the three] because I've realized that they've given so much and they're exhausted and they need a break sometimes. That's the mindset,” Cone said. “I know people want to see them play. I ask people for forgiveness. But these guys really want to win a championship.”
The performance of the Mixers in Game 3 showed that they are a solid unit. Even with benching of their Big Three and the one on James Mays against Air21 in the semifinals, they have continued to win. As a result they are now just a win away from the title. The Mixers watched Jayson Castro and Richard Howell win the Best Player and Best Import of the Conference awards but they all didn’t mind. And for Cone, that’s the beauty of their current system.
“Nobody in our team was in the top eight or nine. I’m really proud of Ping, and James, and PJ because they have really adapted that,” he said. “They really believe in it and that’s the reason for our success.”
