Eyes on the Prize: Coach Tim Cone Discusses Ginebra’s Draft Goals

MANILA – Coach Tim Cone is realistic about the prospects of Justine Baltazar or Kai Ballungay being available for the 10th pick in the PBA Draft. However, he remains optimistic that Ginebra can secure a talented athlete, potentially at the point guard position, from the deep talent pool.

Recently returned from a successful campaign at the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament, where he led Gilas Pilipinas to victory over World No. 6 Latvia, Cone attended the PBA Draft Combine on Thursday at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City to scout potential recruits.

He acknowledged that neither Baltazar nor Ballungay would likely be an option with the 10th pick.

“So the problem is that you end up looking at — you’re watching these games, you’re watching Justine Baltazar, you’re watching (Kai) Ballungay, you’re watching these guys play, and they draw your attention, they draw your eyes and we know we’re not going to get any of them,” Cone admitted.

“So we have to have the discipline to not look at them and look at the other guys. That’s who will really have an advantage. It’s not easy because those guys, those top of the draft picks, they’re going to catch your eye. You want to watch them. They’re fun to watch. But we’ll see,” he added.

The PBA’s most successful coach mentioned that while they may be on the lookout for a big player, there isn’t a “pure big man” available besides Baltazar, who is projected as the number one overall pick.

“We’re always coming to a draft looking for a big guy. But it doesn’t look like there’s anyone available in terms of just a pure big man outside of Justine. So, now we’ll turn our attention to the best available athlete who’s filling out a position. But we’re not going to really look at whether it’s big or small. There’s a good point guard available, and number 10 will go after him,” he stated.

Cone also praised the strength and depth of the projected first-round picks in this draft.

“It’s going to be a very strong first round, I think. The first round of the draft is going to be very strong. I think there’s going to be 12 players in that draft that can really impact the league. So we were just talking with Coach Olsen [Racela] about how this draft looks so much stronger than last year’s draft,” Cone concluded.

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