WITH Gilas Pilipinas already qualified for the FIBA Asia Cup set in Saudi Arabia in August this year and his Ginebra squad bidding to win it all in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup, National coach Tim Cone can perhaps afford to take it easy.
The third window of the continental joust should be no-bearing but for flag and country, Cone will not keep his foot off the pedal.
“Right now, we’re just trying to get the guys because there’s a chance we may go to Doha before the next window for some friendlies,” Cone said. “That would be part of our preparation but that’s gonna happen maybe Feb. 10 or 11.
“We might go there and do our preparations there. But between now and the 10th, the players are with their teams so we don’t have real contact with them,” he added.
The Philippine five will resume its campaign in Group B of the qualifiers when it battles Chinese Taipei on Feb. 20 before a highly-anticipated rematch with New Zealand three days later. Both matches will be on the road.
Part of Cone’s preparation is keeping his 14-man training pool intact despite armchair pundits suggesting to add more players.
“I know there’s a real clamor for a bigger pool, but it’s just the way the windows are set up. The preparation time is so limited. You really have to make the most of that time,” Cone said. “We can’t afford to try and teach 18, 19, or 20 players and get them into rhythm. We need to keep the roster tight so we can maximize our preparation.”
Aside from naturalized star Justin Brownlee, reigning eight-time pro league MVP June Mar Fajardo, former MVP Scottie Thompson, Chris Newsome, CJ Perez, Calvin Oftana, Jamie Malonzo, Kevin Quiambao, and overseas-based standouts Kai Sotto, Dwight Ramos, Carl Tamayo and make up the pool.
Japeth Aguilar and Mason Amos serve as reserves.
The 7-foot-3 Sotto suffered an apparent left knee injury while suiting up for Koshigaya in the Japan B.League last Sunday.
Gilas stunned the world No. 22 Tall Blacks 93-89 and dismantled Hong Kong 93-54 in the November window that stoked their mark to 4-0.
Cone kept it plain and simple—why fix something that isn’t broken?
“If we had two or three months, we could consider expanding the pool, but with the way things are now, and if you talk to any national team coach nowadays, they’ll tell you it’s the same everywhere,” he said. “We’re not the only ones doing it this way.
“We’re open to making adjustments, but right now, we’re sticking with this approach. We’re going with 14 players.”
Next month’s away tiffs should serve as a good gauge of Gilas’ progress under Cone.
