National coach Tim Cone said his wards are raring to prove they have what it takes in the FIBA Asia Cup set Aug. 5 to 17 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
“We want to be able to get there and compete. There’s going to be a lot of really great teams there—Japan, China, Australia, New Zealand, the Middle Eastern teams,” Cone said. “I’m missing somebody out there but I know there’s going to be a lot of good teams that we are going to compete against.
“The idea is we are going to use this window, hopefully, to prepare and get better for the FIBA Asia,” he added.
Unscathed with a 4-0 mark in Group B of the qualifiers, the Philippine five has long bagged a slot in the tilt formerly known as the FIBA Asia Championship and ABC Championship.
But Cone is bracing for the expected fightbacks from Chinese Taipei and New Zealand when they travel on the road on Feb. 20 and Feb. 23, respectively.
Gilas drubbed the Chinese 93-71 in June last year and stunned the Tall Blacks 93-89 last November.
“So, all of these games are so important to us. The friendlies are going to be important for us, learning how to go on the road and beat Taiwan, which is a completely different team this time than it was the last time, different coach, different import, it has extra players,” Cone said. “We are expecting a big battle from Taiwan.
“Then they go to Auckland and play New Zealand at home, that’s going to be a real chore. All this right now is preparation for us to compete in the FIBA Asia.”
Naturalized star Justin Brownlee banners Cone’s 14-man training pool that also features 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 AJ Edu make up the pool.
Japeth Aguilar and Mason Amos are the reserves.
Cone is trusting the process and progress of the Filipino cagers under his auspices in their bid to advance to the World Cup in 2027 and the Los Angeles Olympics three years from now.
“The whole idea is to continue to get to know each other,” he said. “We have such small windows to be together that each window is absolutely crucial to our chemistry and our ability to compete at a high level together.”
