Frontline combination excites Tim

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THERE’S a whale of difference from the time of former coach Chot Reyes calling the shots for Gilas Pilipinas to the new era under Tim Cone.

The Nationals now have gotten invitations to play against fancied opponents overseas.

“We have some invitations from Lithuania, from Slovenia and the Czech Republic,” Cone said, referring to tune-up games with formidable European foes that came few and far between during Reyes’ stint.

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“We’re going to work our way through those and see what we can do. But the window for us to do it is only ten days,” he added.

The Philippine five is now training its sights on the Olympic qualifying tournament in July in Latvia where Cone’s team faces a tall task in their bid to gain a slot in the Paris Olympics.

To realize the basketball-crazy country’s elusive dream of seeing action in the Summer Games, Cone is counting on a dreaded frontline expected to be led by reigning seven-time MVP June Mar Fajardo, AJ Edu, and Kai Sotto.

“So, we got a 6-(foot)-10 and 6-11 guy who are gonna come out and join us when they’re healthy,” Cone said. “We’re hoping all 12 guys will come healthy in June.”

For Cone, fielding a tall frontcourt could do wonders for his charges in the OQT.

“That’s something we don’t have control over, but we’re just gonna keep our fingers crossed. But imagine when we get to that European level. June Mar and Kai are gonna be playing together,” Cone gushed. “AJ and Kai are going to be playing together. They’re going to find ways, because they’re gonna need to.

“We’re gonna meet that kind of size when we play. So, that’s the thing we’re gonna have to work on in those ten days we have.”

Gilas wound up with a 1-4 slate with Reyes at the helm for 24th in the 32-team field in the last World Cup that the Philippines co-hosted with Japan and Indonesia.

The Philippines is bracketed with host and world No. 8 Latvia, and No. 23 Georgia in Group A in the Olympic qualifying tournament.

The 38th-ranked Gilas quintet must finish in the top two of its group to advance to the crossover semifinals against the top two of Group B, which includes No. 12 Brazil, No. 17 Montenegro, and No. 67 Cameroon.

The winners of the crossover semis will clash for the lone slot in the Olympics.

The OQT will be held through four tourneys simultaneously from July 2 to 7 in the cities of Piraeus, Riga, San Juan, and Valencia.

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