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In a PBA bubble that tested the limits of patience, endurance and resiliency, it was made clear right off the bat that nothing would be guaranteed and everything would be twice as hard. There is no precedent to the entire experience. So after Barangay Ginebra wrapped up a five-game conquest of TNT in the 2020 Philippine Cup Finals on Wednesday, one could understand coach Tim Cone -- the ever gracious owner of a record 23 titles and two Grand Slams -- for wanting to keep this rare slice of history just for himself and the Gin Kings. "Hopefully there's only going to be one bubble championship. And if there's only one bubble championship, we got it. And that's so cool," Cone told members of the media moments after Ginebra raised the All-Filipino trophy for the first time in 13 years. Ginebra entered the abridged season as the title favorite, but it might have balked at that notion when the team's season started almost two months ago given the state of things. As deep as the Gin Kings were, preparing for a two-month basketball exile without three of their most important anchors in LA Tenorio, Japeth Aguilar and Greg Slaughter was far from optimal. Tenorio, who went through an offseason surgery, and Aguilar later followed suit days before the conference started, but it was evident early on that both had ways to go before getting into peak game shape and timing. In a compressed tournament that didn't afford them the privilege of time, that spelled a bit of trouble. "I was talking to (assistant) coach Kirk (Collier) just a few minutes ago, and we were laughing and saying we had no idea we were going to be in this situation. I remember coming into the bubble," Cone said, "and I was saying to myself, 'Can we even make the playoffs? Can we prevent ourselves from being eliminated?'" Clearly they did way more than that. "Right now I'm still kinda getting hit by it. It's a little surreal, because the experience is so different," Cone remarked. "When we get back to Manila and we look back on this one, I think that we'll just be amazed at how this all evolved and how it all came together and how we actually ended up winning that championship." A lot of the Gin Kings' success could be attributed to some "out-of-the-box thinking" Cone and the rest of the team adopted in empty gyms of the Angeles University Foundation. That led to a lot of key moments from different players at various points in the conferences -- especially during the Philippine Cup's early stages, where Ginebra weathered off games from Tenorio and Aguilar to sweep the first four games. "Prince Caperal stepped up and played great. Stanley (Pringle) carried us. Scottie (Thompson) played well. We had our rookie, Arvin Tolentino, who was carrying us as well. And that kind of just jettisoned to where we are now. Those first four games I think kind of jettisoned us to where we are now," Cone noted. That set the tone for an 8-3 run in the elimination round that proved enough to land the Gin Kings the top seed entering the playoffs. Getting to the finals was a different challenge altogether; Ginebra first had to dispatch a gritty Rain or Shine side a day after Typhoon Ulysses ravaged the country, then it had to go five games in the semifinals against a Meralco Bolts team desperate to end to their misery at the hands of a familiar tormentor. And then there was TNT. If the series seemed anticlimactic, it's only because a vaunted matchup between two franchises longing to end their respective droughts fell short of original expectations. Dispatching a hardy, fire-at-will TNT team in five games was still difficult, but it was supposed to be more excruciating than this. Predictions had the best-of-seven series going down the wire with no clear winner until the final buzzer, but predictions also failed to foresee unfortunate injuries that would befall stars Ray Parks (calf) and Jayson Castro (bone spurs). "I know that a lot of people are gonna look at Talk 'N Text and say they had injuries, which is absolutely true. It is really hard to coach and win without your best players on the floor, especially with no time to really adjust and change your system or whatever needs to be done," Cone said. "But I thought that the coaching staff of Talk 'N Text coached brilliantly with what they had. Truly, brilliantly with what they had." "Winning the championship is really hard," Cone continued. "There's a lot that goes into winning the championship, and one of them is health, and we were fortunate that we kept our health and we were fortunate that Talk 'N Text did not keep their health. But that's basketball, that's the way it goes. I've been on the other side of that. I've lost championships because of injured players, so I know how tough it is." Still, it wouldn't be fair to discount their title given everything they had to go through. Ginebra paid its dues by playing tremendous basketball while staying healthy. The road to the finals wasn't a cakewalk, as some detractors online would put it. It was a tour de force, a consequence of grueling effort and painstaking attention to detail that would have put the Gin Kings ahead of anyone more often than not regardless of the circumstance. "I thought our guys did a really good job of staying healthy, working hard to stay healthy. I thought we had a good balance of work and rest, and that led us all the way to the finals," Cone said. "We always say in our team that our health is our weapon. We feel if we're healthy, we always have a chance to win, we have a chance to compete for championships." "I can't tell you how tough it was. It was like pulling teeth to win the championship tonight. We battled ourselves, we battled Talk 'N Text. It was just a really, really tough mental game," the coach continued. "It was just such a mental challenge to be out there and try to win this game tonight. And when it came down to it, we won this game tonight. Wasn't pretty, but we won it on character." The results are hard-earned and well-deserved. For Cone, already a holder of a slew of PBA records, he adds another notch on his belt after surpassing Robert Jaworski for being the winningest coach in the franchise's colorful history. "I didn't even know that. I had no idea that was happening. Wow, what an achievement," Cone said. "Just to be mentioned with the greats, like Baby Dalupan and Sonny Jaworski, it just gives me goosebumps to be mentioned in those names. I never would have thought it, honestly. I never would have thought that I would even be in Ginebra and be around the fans and hear all the comments and the adulation of Sonny Jaworski. Even now, it's just amazing." This title also marks a first for a bunch of players, especially for the 36-year-old Tenorio, who won his first All-Filipino title after 14 PBA seasons. "You know, right after the game we hugged, he came up to me and said, 'Finally! I told you we can get this All-Filipino (title).' As we hugged, I said the last time we hugged was in the (2019-20 Governors' Cup) championship, and he said to me when we hugged that, 'This was nice, coach, but we have to win the All-Filipino.' He was the driving force through this whole bubble," shared Cone. "I only asked for an All-Filipino championship, but God gave me a bonus," Tenorio, who was named the series' Finals MVP, said in Filipino at the podium. What comes next has yet to be sorted out. A title defense will be made April 2021, and some roster tinkering in preparation for a tougher field could be in order for Ginebra in between those months. But at the moment, that's neither here nor there. Cone and the Gin Kings right now can surely allow themselves to sit back and revel in the glory of winning it all during the PBA's most trying season to date. "I think there'll be great pride in winning. And it's also not only that, it's back-to-back," Cone said, referring to the Governors' Cup title they won ages ago last January. "Of course, the back-to-back are separated by (11) months, but still it's a back-to-back championship and then the first All-Filipino in a long time. Super, super special." After an arduous bubble run that pushed them to the limits, Cone and the Gin Kings are ready to exit with a lasting piece of history that's theirs alone, no matter what happens. "This was such a unique experience and I can't thank the PBA enough for allowing us to play the game we love in a safe and competitive manner. But honestly, we're ready to go home. After two and a half months, we're ready to go home," Cone said. "Twenty to 30 years from now, when they look back and say, 'You know that bubble championship?' They'll remember our team because we had the most unique championship in the history of the PBA. It's really cool."
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