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Barangay Ginebra head coach Tim Cone acknowledges that the Kings are in the process of transition while maintaining their competitiveness in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Season 50 Philippine Cup campaign.The offseason has seen Ginebra part ways with two key players and add some new faces for the season-opening tournament unfurling on 5 October.Veteran leader LA Tenorio left the Kings after 13 seasons and has moved on to a new chapter in his basketball career as the playing head coach of Magnolia.High-flying forward Jamie Malonzo, on the other hand, sought greener pastures by signing with the Kyoto Hannaryz in the Japan B.League after Ginebra’s semifinals exit in the all-Filipino conference of the previous season. These left the Kings with a huge void both in firepower and leadership, something Cone is trying to address.“We need to be more complimentary with each other. But that’s something that will develop through the conference,” the mentor said.“You know, we’re, we don’t have Jamie here anymore, so we’re filling (in) that void. Obviously, we don’t have LA, so there’s a leadership void,” he added.Cone is looking at Stephen Holt to fill the big shoes left by Tenorio.“I think Stephen’s doing a good job of stepping into that leadership at this point. But, you know, these are things that you have to overcome,” the 25-time PBA champion tactician said.Seasoned big man Japeth Aguilar, on the other hand, will be missing some games while recovering from a hand injury.“Japeth is going to be out, probably, for the first few games. We don’t know exactly when he’ll be back,” Cone said.Aguilar, who has been troubled by the injury for a year and a half, played through the injury during Gilas Pilipinas’ 2025 FIBA Asia Cup campaign in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia last month.“The day after we arrived from Saudi Arabia, we had his surgery done. And it’s going alright, he’s doing well. But he’s not doing basketball activities yet. He can’t handle the ball yet. So, he’ll be out probably our first game, maybe our second,” Cone said.Ginebra tapped Norbert Torres to take over Aguilar spot in the meantime while the Kings selected promising rookie Sonny Estil as the 11th pick overall in the recent Draft.The Kings had a couple of runner-up finishes last season in the Governors’ Cup and Commissioner’s Cup but failed to advance in the Philippine Cup final following a sorry semis loss to eventual champion San Miguel Beer in seven games.But Cone is optimistic about Ginebra’s redemption bid this year despite the adversities.
