Richard del Rosario will be in charge of Ginebra while Tim Cone is with the Miami Heat. PBA Images.
MANILA, Philippines -- Barangay Ginebra coach Tim Cone is confident that the Gin Kings will not miss a beat when he leaves for a brief stint with the Miami Heat later this month.
Cone will leave on June 28 to join Miami's coaching staff for the NBA Summer League, having been invited by head coach Erik Spoelstra. In charge of Ginebra in the interim will be his lead assistant, Richard del Rosario.
"I don't think anything's gonna change," Cone said. "We have a system in place. Richard believes in it just as much as I do, so there's not gonna be a lot of adjustments."
"I think they'll go out and basically continue doing what they're doing," he added.
Ginebra is currently 3-1 in the 2022 PBA Philippine Cup, putting them in solo second place. Cone will still be with the team when they play San Miguel Beer on Friday, before missing their next four games against Converge, TerraFirma, TNT, and Meralco.
The multi-titled coach wryly said that the Gin Kings may even play better when he's not around.
"Because I'm not there, I think they'll loosen up a little bit and do it at an even higher level. I won't be at the back, screaming and yelling," he said. "So, I really don't think anything's gonna change. And management is truly believing that we're gonna not miss a beat and keep going forward."
"I think we have everything in place. Things are just gonna continue to move forward," he added.
Cone said that the Ginebra players "have great respect and belief" in Del Rosario, who has worked with Cone since 2011 when they were both still with the Purefoods franchise.
"I don't think that we will miss a beat, honestly. Truly, from the bottom of my heart, I don't think we'll miss a beat with me gone," he said.
Del Rosario, meanwhile, stressed that his goal is to keep the house in order while Cone is away.
"Parang ano lang 'yan, your parent goes abroad to work. Right now, ikaw 'yung panganay na anak, na pinagbilinan niya," he said. "So 'yung values na tinuro, 'di naman sasakay sa eroplano kasama niya."
Del Rosario shares Cone's sentiments that there will be virtually no changes in Ginebra while the head coach is with the Heat, but he also hopes that the Gin Kings will improve in the meantime.
He is also looking forward to learning the lessons that Cone will bring with him from his stint with Miami, where he will be working with Malik Allen, a 10-year NBA veteran and one of Spoelstra's chief assistants.
"Whatever he learns, maibabalik niya rin sa amin," said Del Rosario. "That's what we're looking forward to."