By TITO S. TALAO
A blown chance for Gilas Pilipinas head coach Tim Cone three years ago may yet find fulfillment at the 20th Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya next month.
Unless destiny intervenes—again.
Cone had it all planned during the 19th edition of the Asian Games in Hangzhou in 2023: find a break in the schedule of the men’s basketball competition and go off to watch Alex Eala in action.
Yes, Alex Eala, now the rising star of women’s tennis, but still two years away at the time from her breakthrough tournament at the Miami Open.
With Gilas having blitzed Bahrain and Thailand in the group phase in late September that year, a victory over Jordan and PBA import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson in the next game would have sent the Philippines to the quarterfinals outright on Oct. 3 against Iran, leaving Oct. 1 and 2 open for a quick side trip for Cone to the Hangzhou Olympic Expo Center, which housed the tennis matches.
But fate intervened.
Behind RHJ’s 24 points, Jordan crushed the Philippines, 87-62, leaving Cone incommunicado to everyone else except team manager Alfrancis Chua during the long walk from the gymnasium back to where the bus was parked, and all the way to the hotel.
Thrown into a hellish sudden-death game against Qatar, Cone pulled out all the stops and dragged everybody to the practice venue the next day to prepare for the game that mattered most at that point.
Fueled by the frightening thought of going home empty-handed, the Philippines came out blazing and annihilated Qatar, 80-41, advancing to the quarterfinals, where it shocked Iran by one point.
That set the stage for the unforgettable comeback against China in the semifinals, followed by a masterful revenge victory over Jordan in the final.
Lost for Cone, a tennis buff, however, in the dizzying run to a gold-medal finish—a first for the country in the Asiad since 1962—was the opportunity to cheer for Eala as she battled some of the region’s best women players.
Three years later, Cone still remembers the details clearly.
“If we had beaten Jordan, we would have had a day break and gone straight to the quarters. But by losing, we had to do a playoff against Qatar to make it to the quarters,” Cone said on Viber.
“Because we lost [to Jordan], our next game was scheduled at the same time as her match. I was disappointed not to watch because I’m a big tennis fan.”
Now comes the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games next month, with Gilas Pilipinas and Cone bracketed with China, Bahrain and Kazakhstan in Group C as they bid to defend the title. Eala, who reached the semifinals and took the bronze in Hangzhou, has also recently confirmed her presence in the Games.
Cone is thrilled at the prospect of finally getting to see the 21-year-old tennis phenom competing after missing out on a golden opportunity three years ago.
“It would be awesome to watch Alex this time in Nagoya, if there’s a chance,” said Cone, who a few days ago met two of Eala’s would-be teammates in Japan, Tenielle Madis and Stefi Aludo, at the Alabang Tennis Courts.
“Looking forward to watching them,” Cone said.
Hoping fate doesn’t have other plans this time.
