By IT’S BACK to the Gilas Pilipinas bench and the Asian Games for multi-titled Tim Cone.
He may not have the luxury of time and manpower like he did with the Centennial Team in 1998, but Mr. Cone is upbeat he could put up a fighting squad for this latest mission come Sept. 23 in Hangzhou, China.
“We’ll do our best,” the two-time grand slam winner said yesterday when he was announced chief tactician of Gilas for the Asiad following Chot Reyes’ departure.
The plan is to bring back the PBA stalwarts from the FIBA World Cup crew such as June Mar Fajardo, Japeth Aguilar, Scottie Thompson, RR Pogoy and WC pool members Chris Newsome and Calvin Oftana. Then add naturalized players Justin Brownlee and Ange Kouame to the mix and fill up the slots left by Gilas stalwarts based in Japan and Korea like Dwight Ramos, Kai Sotto, Kiefer Ravena and Rhenz Abando with versatile players.
Mr. Cone, who will be assisted by Mr. Reyes’ deputies Jong Uichico and Josh Reyes and bring his own lieutenants Richard del Rosario and LA Tenorio, said he will form a team built around ball movement and defense.
“We’re going to be focused on ball movement and we’re going to be very defensive-oriented. I think that’s going to be our edge in the Asian Games,” said Mr. Cone.
“We’re really looking for guys who are two-way players; they can do some damage on the offense, but can also be great defenders.”
Mr. Cone has set a training start on Monday for a 12-man team with one or two practice players from Ginebra. A five to six-day camp at Inspire Academy is also in the pipeline prior to leaving for China for the campaign that starts with group games against Bahrain, Thailand and Jordan.
“That’s not an easy schedule but it’s doable. We’ll see how it goes. What’s our chances? If we’re playing the way we want to play, I don’t think there’s nobody we can’t beat,” he said.
“Especially with Justin (Brownlee) around. I have good faith in Justin. He makes people around him better and no matter who you surround him with, they’re going to play better than how they normally play. We’re not going out there to guarantee the gold but we have a chance and we’re going to fight for it.”
Ginebra Governor Alfrancis Chua and PBA Commissioner Willie Marcial were designated team manager and deputy team manager, respectively.
Mr. Cone’s appointment was formalized during a board meeting presided by PBA Chairman Ricky Vargas yesterday.
“The PBA is all in,” said Mr. Vargas.
He said it was a high-risk endeavor that the pro league is ready to take in the name of the country.
“If we fail, it’s a high risk. But when the board discussed it, we were single-minded about it. Kung hindi tayo kikilos, sino pa? The PBA has never been afraid to fail. The governors were saying we were not afraid when it was COVID and we’re not afraid today especially for a good cause which is the Philippine team,” said Mr. Vargas.