MANILA, Philippines – Losing the PBA Governors’ Cup finals was a bittersweet experience for Tim Cone.

Cone missed out on a record-extending 26th title at the hands of his former player and deputy Jojo Lastimosa as Barangay Ginebra fell short of a three-peat in the season-ending tiff after bowing to TNT in six games.

The defeat marked the first time the Gin Kings lost a finals series in an import-laden conference under Cone, who led the franchise to seven championships since his arrival in 2015.

“I’m real happy for Jojo. But I don’t like losing,” said Cone.

“He gave me a little bit of a hug that I probably shook off a little bit. But I mean, he and I are really close. It’s painful to lose.”

Cone steered Ginebra to a 2-1 series lead as they appeared set to extend their dominance in the Governors’ Cup, which they ruled for four of the last five editions.

But Lastimosa, who won 11 PBA titles with Cone – nine as a player and two as an assistant coach – pushed the right buttons and guided the Tropang Giga to three straight wins to capture his first championship as head coach.

Cone said he is now in the same situation when the Gin Kings swept Jorge Gallent and San Miguel in the semifinals.

“Jorge and I are close, maybe not as close as Jojo and I, but Jorge and I are close. Jorge certainly wasn’t happy when we beat them as well. Now I’m in Jorge’s shoes, I know what it feels like. It’s not easy,” Cone said.

Although dismayed, Cone conceded that TNT was simply the better team.

“We would have loved to win this. We would have loved to be able to win back-to-back. But it wasn’t meant to be,” Cone said.

“They played well all the way through. They certainly deserved it more than we did.” – Rappler.com