Cone expects Thompson to take baby steps in Ginebra 'Triangle'

MANILA, Philippines – Barangay Ginebra coach Tim Cone expects incoming rookie Scottie Thompson to take the triangle offense step by step as the Perpetual Help Altas superstar tries to catch up with the team’s preparation for the PBA’s 41st season set to start this Sunday.

Cone said two days of practice and one tuneup game are not enough for the six-foot Thompson to fully grasp the ‘triangle’, which the American coach has used successfully in his 26-year coaching career in the pro league.

“He’s (Thompson) so far behind, because like you said, we have a month and a half (of practice) but he’s had just two days, so these guys have passed him up (in terms of understanding the triangle),” Cone told Philstar.com following Ginebra’s 92-81 thumping of defending Philippine Cup champion San Miguel Beer in their tuneup match on Wednesday.

Thompson’s NCAA championship mission came to an abrupt end last Friday when Perpetual bowed to Letran, 93-64 as the Altas missed the Final Four in his last season in college.

The 57-year-old many-time PBA champion coach said Thompson will have to adjust to a lot of things in the professional ranks, like dealing with bigger, more athletic defenders, along with the overall physicality of the game.

“The game is much faster in the college level than in the PBA level but then you turn, you get to the basket, and in the college level, you have a couple of 6-3 or 6-4 guys jumping at your shot,” explained Cone, who led Star to five PBA titles, before moving over to Ginebra more than two months ago. 

“But in the PBA level, you got a seven-footer, a 6-10 guy or a super athletic 6-7 guy (as defender) and now, it’s a whole new adjustment for these young guys. That’s why you play him (in a tuneup game) to get a feel of the game,” he added.

Thompson, Ginebra’s fifth overall pick in the draft last August, had a five-minute exposure in the tuneup match that saw him commit an offensive foul against San Miguel’s defense specialist Chris Ross, one turnover, a forced shot with the shot-clock about to expire, while also having his first attempt blocked by June Mar Fajardo.

“But that’s why it’s unfair for us to play him after just two days of practice, but that’s fine,” he said. “We’’re really excited to have him.”

Cone has designated veteran guards Jayjay Helterbrand and LA Tenorio as Thompson’s mentors in the ‘triangle’.

“LA and Jayjay, two great mentors, have been talking to him, trying to show how we run the triangle,” he said.

“He’s done a little bit with (Perpetual) coach Aric, but we're pretty far advanced so there’s still has a lot of stuff he didn’t know.”

Cone makes his much-awaited coaching debut with Ginebra next Wednesday when they play the Meralco Bolts.