THE home run is still far, so for now, Gilas Pilipinas coach Tim Cone is keeping his mantra simple—get better in every FIBA window.
“We only have five days of preparation, not two weeks. So, it’s always challenging but we keep talking about the continuity of the program and the preparation we have is accumulative,” Cone said yesterday during a press conference at the TV5 Media Center in Mandaluyong.
“In other words, we prepared with the first window we had at the beginning of the year, we also prepared for the OQT, that’s been part of our preparation, understanding our system both on offense and defense.
“Now we come in, we feel that the key that we want is to elevate our game every time we come into a new window,” he added.
Cone spoke nine days before his charges commence their drive in the second round of the Asia Cup qualifiers on home soil.
Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas President Al Panlilio echoed Cone’s sentiments.
“As Tim said, every window is important. It’s an improvement from the last window or the last tournament,” Panlilio, who was also joined in the gab by cage body executive director Erika Dy and Gilas team manager Richard Del Rosario, said.
“So, I think this is a journey for the team, but we always want to do better from the last window.”
The Nationals begin their short build-up on Friday, Nov. 15, at the Inspire Sports Academy in Calamba, Laguna.
Leading the national team training pool are naturalized players Justin Brownlee and Ange Kouame, along with pro league reigning eight-time MVP June Mar Fajardo, former MVP Scottie Thompson, Chris Newsome, CJ Perez, Calvin Oftana, Kevin Quiambao, and overseas-based standouts Kai Sotto, Dwight Ramos, AJ Edu, and Carl Tamayo.
The 7-foot-3 Sotto (concussion) and 6-foot-10 Edu (knee) are racing against time to be in the pink of health just in time when the Filipino cagers square off with New Zealand on Nov. 21 and Hong Kong three days later at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.
Cone ruled out Malonzo from suiting up for the squad after undergoing calf surgery while Japeth Aguilar and Mason Amos will serve as reserves.
Gilas posted a 2-0 sweep of the first round last February and ending the year with a bang should serve Cone’s wards in good stead heading into next year.
“We wanna be better from the first window to the second, second to the third and the third to the next year,” he said. “We wanna continue to elevate as we become more familiar with each other.”
The window for growth and turning into a formidable quintet is also getting smaller next year in Cone and the SBP’s long term targets—a FIBA World Cup slot in 2027 in Qatar and a dearly cherished dream of making it back to the Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028.
So, they have to grow now.
