Alaska team manager Joaqui Trillo on Monday denied reports that coach Tim Cone is under fire from the management after the Aces were swept by the Purefoods Giants last week in the KFC-PBA Philippine Cup Finals.

“Not true at all,” Trillo said in a text message to the Bulletin.

Rumors are going around that Cone and management have been at odds since the Aces lost to the Giants for the all-Filipino title.

In 24 championship appearances – 22 under Cone – it was the first time that the franchise owned by Wilfred Steven Uytengsu was dealt a painful sweep. It was only the third sweep in a seven-game showdown in the Finals.

Cone, No. 2 in the all-time list of champion coaches with 12 behind legendary mentor Baby Dalupan’s 15, said that Purefoods was able to maximize its tall and quick frontline, obviously the difference in the best-of-seven series.

Alaska tied San Miguel Beer (SMB) for the best record after the classification with a 13-5 win-loss card to earn an outright semifinals seat. It swept Barangay Ginebra, 4-0, in the seven-game Final Four series.

In the Finals, however, Cone and Alaska were beaten black and blue by the Ryan Gregorio-mentored Purefoods, which claimed its eighth overall championship and fifth all-Filipino title to tie the PBA record of Crispa.

Trillo said that there’s no issue between Cone and the management, saying: “Everything is going fine with Tim and management.”

“We believe in the coaching ability of Tim and we would want him to retire with us — 20 years from now — as the greatest ever. And there’s no doubt in my mind that he can do it,” Trillo said.

The Aces resumed practice Monday in preparation for the Fiesta Cup set to open on March 21.

The team will have as reinforcement Diamon Simpson, a 6-foot-5 forward/center who recently played in the NBA Developmental League (D-League).

“Watch us come roaring back in this conference,” Trillo said.