That was Barangay Ginebra San Miguel head coach Tim Cone’s contribution to the sportswriting lexicon Wednesday night after the Kings took Game 1 of the best-of-seven PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals against the TNT Tropang 5G at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
During the postgame press conference, a TV5 reporter asked Cone what he had told RJ Abarrientos during a timeout with two minutes remaining and Ginebra trailing 95-92—words that appeared to have “motivated” the young guard into delivering a pair of booming shots against TNT.
Abarrientos, seemingly fired up after the exchange, came out of the huddle and buried a four-point shot to give Ginebra a 96-95 lead with 1:30 remaining. As the ball swished through the net and the majority of the 11,447 fans at the Big Dome erupted, he pointed an index finger straight at Cone.
Then, with 20 seconds left and TNT back on top, 97-96, after two RR Pogoy free throws, Abarrientos—who was just 5-for-12 from the field at that point—drained another four-pointer for a 100-97 Ginebra advantage. The shot brought the house down and sent Tropang 5G coach Chot Reyes scrambling to call a timeout.
This time, Cone walked out to meet Abarrientos under very different circumstances, putting an arm around him.
That was the backstory.
So, once again: What exactly did he say to inspire those two huge baskets?
Cone smiled.
“Motivate RJ? No, it’s more like I pissed him off.”
By then, Abarrientos, who finished with 24 points, had joined Cone at the interview table and listened intently as his coach explained his unconventional motivational tactic.
The Q&A continued until someone asked Cone if the same method had worked on RJ’s uncle, Johnny Abarrientos—now a Ginebra assistant coach—during their years together building the Alaska dynasty.
“What do you mean?” Cone asked.
“Pissing off the Flying A whenever he was having a bad game,” he was told.
Cone laughed.
“That was a long time ago,” he said. “But I’ve always been an equal opportunity screamer. I don’t just scream at the players at the end of the bench. I scream at the superstars, too.”
As examples, Cone cited players he had “pissed off” over the years, including Bong Hawkins, Jojo Lastimosa, Johnny Abarrientos, and even James Yap, who starred for him at San Mig Super Coffee before and after the franchise’s Grand Slam season in 2014.
According to the internet, an “equal opportunity screamer” is a humorous twist on the phrase “equal opportunity employer”—someone who yells at everyone equally, regardless of skill level, seniority, or status. The term suggests impartiality, a lack of favoritism, and a demand for high standards.
Much like Coach Tim, apparently.
On the way out of the Ginebra locker room, Johnny Abarrientos was asked how he and his nephew had learned to handle Cone’s motivational style.
“Alam ko na ’yon,” the Flying A said. “Kaya nga sabi ko kay RJ, ‘Bayaan na lang niyang magdabog si coach sa kanya. Tutal sa kanya rin naman pupunta ’yon.’”
And really, two gigantic clutch four-pointers in the closing minutes of Game 1?
That’s one surefire way to silence the screaming.
