Tony DiLeo says the Game 6 meltdown against the Orlando Magic did not weigh into his decision to withdraw from consideration as a candidate to continue coaching the 76ers. And yet, he says that game remains the one regret of his brief tenure as the in-season replacement for the fired Maurice Cheeks.

He isn't alone.

You can explain all the positive aspects of DiLeo going 32-27, with the second-best winning percentage of the eight replacement coaches in the NBA this season. You can show video of the Sixers' seven-game winning streak, of their 14-4 surge, beating the Los Angeles Lakers on the road, making the playoffs, even the first five games of their first-round series.

But the most recent impression, sadly, remains the lasting one. And that is of a team that came apart when it most needed to come together. Those Sixers needed a Game7, regardless of how that might have ended. For themselves. For their fan base. And, yes, for their coach.

The Sixers might well have lost Game7, and DiLeo still might have withdrawn his name from consideration, but the cloud of negativity and doubt might never have billowed as it has.

"The perception of the team the whole season was blue collar, fighting, working, never give up," DiLeo said as he met with reporters yesterday for the first time since the conclusion of the playoffs. "I don't think it's fair that one game, even though it was a disappointing game and it was our last game, should overshadow what the identity of the team was the whole year... When I first took over, not a lot of people thought we had a chance to make the playoffs."

DiLeo will not be remembered for his charisma, but he should be remembered for having the courage of his convictions. He coached with a relative sense of calm, with a willingness to take input from his staff, which was clearly more animated and involved than it had been under Cheeks. DiLeo drew two technical fouls during his tenure, and even those were hard to come by because he doesn't curse and — at least publicly — rarely raises his voice. He did the in-season job he was asked to do, and he did it honorably, but he could not change who he is.

And even as he stepped away from coaching, choosing to resume his duties as senior vice president/assistant general manager, he did it as the perfect employee. He did not force president/general manager Ed Stefanski to decide his fate; he allowed Stefanski the freedom to finally select his own coach, the person upon whom a legacy could be built. There wasn't even the economic worry of having to pay an extra coach, as the Sixers are doing with Cheeks through next season, as they did with Jim O'Brien in previous seasons. DiLeo did not work with a separate coaching contract that might have included a buyout or future payments; he was simply paid additional money for the duration of the season to help solve a problem. It didn't take DiLeo a long time to realize he wasn't a career coach, or to recognize his niche as a personnel specialist.

"There's been a lot of talk about the way I coach or my style of coaching," said DiLeo, now eagerly looking forward to more closely following the careers of athlete sons T.J. (Temple) and Max (Cinnaminson, N.J., High). "It's my belief, especially with this team, to be positive, optimistic, to give individual players and the team confidence, to build them up at the right moments, to correct them at the right moments."

He goes back to the front office firmly believing that he did hold players accountable, even though he never did it publicly. He also goes back insisting Game6, "did not weight into my decision."

"Was it disappointing?" he said. "Yes. Were there reasons for it? Yes. But to say that one game...it had no effect. The overall body of work was there, and I think we're proud of the overall body of work."

He said that former Sixers coach Larry Brown told him, "Be true to yourself. Don't compromise your values."

"And that was a great piece of advice," DiLeo said.

He wasn't brought in to be Mr. Excitement. He was brought in to fill a breach. And he did.

"We were one of the best fastbreak teams in the league," DiLeo said. "I thought we were one of the most exciting teams in the league, even though the coach wasn't that exciting."

True to himself. To the finish. *

For more Sixers coverage, read the Daily News' Sixers blog, Sixerville, at http://go.philly.com/sixerville.