Cone laments inevitable loss of Ginebra' 'sixth man' under new normal

MANILA, Philippines — If ever the PBA gets to resume play, coach Tim Cone braces for a missing piece in Barangay Ginebra’s arsenal – the loud, energy-pumping cheers of its “sixth man.”

But the multi-titled mentor is confident the never-say-die, go-hard Gin Kings can handle this unfamiliar situation in the new normal.

“Hopefully, they will play over the loud speakers ‘Gi-neb-ra, Gi-neb-ra’. That will get us going,” Cone said on the Chasedown program on One Sports on Saturday.

“Without a doubt, it’s going to be more difficult without the fans. They’re a huge part of the game and you can’t discount them at all, especially Ginebra fans, so yeah, it’s going to be a big adjustment for us,” he added.

The PBA has gotten the IATF’s go-signal to do small group, non-scrimmage workouts but only in areas under general community quarantine (GCQ).

More activities can be done in moderate risk localities (MGCQ with modifiers) with contact drills and even games possible in low risk places (MGCQ).

In all these, however, the government isn’t keen on allowing live spectators.

And hardest hit would be Ginebra and its die-hard legion.

“We have to learn to kick ourselves into gear, not relying on our fans to get us into gear, play big moments without the fans,” said Cone.

But there’s no doubt in Cone’s mind that his players will live up to their billing – crowd or no crowd.

“Just like the NBA, our guys will play hard,” he said.

“They’re professionals, they know and love the game. I don’t think it’s going to be an issue in terms of the guys playing hard. It’s just the extra push that you get from the fans is so valuable.”

Cone believes if the stalled Philippine Cup gets going, it would be an open field considering the layoff everybody similarly experienced.

“It (quarantine) equalizes things because we’re all going to come back after a long, long stretch. Teams that will get in shape and rediscover their system (fast) will have the edge. And that could be anybody, not San Miguel, not Ginebra,” he said.