Alaska Aces

LOOKS like the Alaska Aces found a jewel of an import in Diamon Simpson. Listed as 6'7" in the NBA Developmental League, Simpson arrived Sunday evening and impressed the Alaska coaching staff in his initial practice at the Reyes Gym, Monday afternoon.

With a PBA-certified height of 6'5 ¾", Simpson was big enough to bang bodies with Alaska bigs Sonny Thoss and Sam Eman. He was also quick enough to beat Alaska wingmen Mark Borboran and Jeff Cariaso with dribble drives to the hoop. And when the lane was closed, he had the touch to sink outside shots, including a few triples.

At the defensive end, Simpson was a tireless rebounder, worked hard to box out and relentlessly pursued every loose ball.

"I am very excited to be playing with the Alaska Aces," said Simpson. "They are very athletic. They are very competitive. I like it a lot. I enjoy working with them and I know we can get the job done."

Simpson said he already had a long talk with Alaska coach Tim Cone and he was aware of the high expectations that everybody has for the team. He said he was confident of being able to help the team achieve its goals.

"He (coach Tim) told me to come in and help them win. So I am going to do my best," said Simpson. "I know that this team wants to win a championship this conference and I hope to help them achieve that goal. I cannot wait to compete at that level."

Simpson hit the ground running almost literally. He arrived in the Philippines Sunday evening. He had a restful sleep then reported for the Alaska practice at the Reyes gym at 12 noon Monday. Simpson attended the players and coaches' meeting and then went on to do the drills and scrimmages from 1 to 3 p.m. in the afternoon.

Cone said he was very pleased with their talented, young new import.

"He is obviously very skilled," said Cone. "He is tall. He is long. He is young. He has got a lot of skills. He has got a lot of knowledge of the triangle, so those are the key things for us in bringing him along."

The Alaska mentor was particularly pleased because Simpson was already familiar with the Alaska triangle offense.

"He is actually the first import we ever had where we went to practice immediately," said Cone. "Usually, we spend about a week telling our imports about the triangle. But since he already knows about the triangle, we went to practice immediately. That saved us a lot of time."

Cone said he hoped that Simpson will have a long and fruitful relationship with the Alaska Aces.

"The most important thing is he is very young and he has an opportunity to grow with us," said Cone. "The fact that he is only 22, he is going to be energetic. He is going to be happy to be here and hopefully he can grow with us and we can develop as a team not just this conference but other conferences down the line. We are really excited about him."

Simpson had a busy Monday. After the practices, he and trainer Gus Vargas went straight to the PBA offices where he was measured.

The Aces have a lot of making up to do after being swept 4-0 by the Purefoods Tender Juicy Giants who won the PBA Philippine Cup title.

Nothing less than winning the championship of the PBA Fiesta Cup will satisfy the Aces. - www.manilastandardtoday.com

FOR more than 20 years, Alaska and its resident coach Tim Cone look inseparable.

But will their partnership come to an end, especially after the Aces' KFC-Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup best-of-seven championship series debacle?

Cone, owner of 12 league championships – all from Alaska – and architect of his team's grand-slam feat in 1996, believes there's no guarantee for him now, after being swept in the finals by his youthful counterpart Ryan Gregorio and the Purefoods Tender Juicy Giants.

"In an organization like us, there's no guarantee. Even if you lose by one point or 20 points, the bottom line there is that you still lost games. What more when you're swept in the finals?" Cone told Standard Today in a telephone interview.

It was the only sweep experienced by the American mentor in more than two decades of coaching Alaska. But the dynasty he created the past decade and the personal and team successes he gave Alaska was coupled with some heartbreaking setbacks, as well.

"I swept a team and was swept as well. I fought in a short series and a seven-game series and won and lost quite a number of them. In 20 years of coaching, you will experience a lot of those," he added.

Cone, the longest-tenured mentor and winningest bench tactician among active coaches in the league, has an expiring contract in July and even him is unsure of what future lies ahead for him.

But one thing is certain. Cone would love to coach more games and has no plans of slowing down.

"I love coaching and I would love to coach any team," added Cone, who is second in the all-time list for most number of championships, behind his idol, the legendary Baby Dalupan. "But if Alaska would want me to be there, then I would stay. Alaska has been my home in the PBA and the leaders in the organization are my mentors."

Alaska team manager and board governor Joaqui Trillo wrote in a text message that "he sees no problem with Alaska dealing with Cone on a possible contract renewal."

Whether he will be given a fresh mandate in coaching, offered of a new position with Alaska or find himself going elsewhere remain to be seen. But Cone is now setting his sights on the PBA Fiesta Conference, where teams will parade imports 6'6" and below. Rey Joble (www.manilastandardtoday.com)

Alaska coach Tim Cone was right all along that Purefoods' formidable frontline crew will play a key role in their KFC-PBA Philippine Cup Finals series.

Though James Yap was always there to deliver, the troika of rebounding demon Marc Pingris, speedster Niño Cañaleta, and rookie sensation Rico Maierhofer made the difference.

According to Cone, the three were not only tall, but they were ultra quick.

Their quickness, Cone said, enabled them to hound Alaska's aces – two-time MVP winner Willie Miller and LA Tenorio.

"It was really their size," said Cone, whose team topped the classification phase to earn an outright berth in the semifinals where they swept Barangay Ginebra to enter the Finals, in a phone interview with the Bulletin Thursday.

And that's the big reason when the Giants swept them in their best-of-seven title series which Yap and company capped with an 86-76 win Wednesday before a roaring crowd at the Araneta Coliseum.

It was only the third sweep in a seven-game Finals series and first since 1992.

On offense, the three also contributed to help Yap, forward Kerby Raymundo, center Rafi Reavis and point guard Roger Yap.

"I think we did a good job on James, Roger Yap and Kerby. But it was Pingris, Reavis, KG (Canaleta) and even Maierhofer, it was their size and quickness. They disrupted us both on offense and defense," Cone said.

"They outplayed us in the series. We had our chances to win games. But they came in to the series at a high level especially defensively. They just gained momentum. But the most impressive thing is that they didn't let off the pedal for a moment. They didn't give us a chance," he added.

The series result, Cone said, doesn't matter.

"To me, a loss is a loss. I feel worst after 3-2 lead with Talk 'N Text last season (Philippine Cup)," said Cone, referring to their 4-3 series loss to TNT in the Finals.

Despite the setback, Cone said there were a few positive things from the tournament.

"We got swept, but we swept Ginebra. We led and topped the conference. There are a lot of positive things. Problem was we run into a hot, hot team." - www.mb.com.ph