THE mission to regain the gold after 40 long and weary years begins.
Gilas Pilipinas left last night for Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, for the FIBA Asia Cup set for Aug. 5 to 7.
National coach Tim Cone beamed with the progress of his charges after nearly a month-long preparation.
“I think the guys just had a hard time getting their legs under them in the beginning. But once they got going, they were fine. So, I thought, like I said, I thought we did two good weeks of practice,” Cone said. “We’ve gotta be able to execute a little bit better. But then, on the other hand, we don’t want to restrict these guys strictly to execution because they’re basketball players, and they’re elite basketball players.
“We gotta allow them to play their game. They’re some of the best players in the country. So, we gotta allow them to have the freedom to really make plays.”
The Filipino cagers kick off their bid against Chinese Taipei on Aug. 5 at the King Abdullah Sports City, followed by a marquee duel against New Zealand on Aug. 7 and Iraq two days later in Group D of the tourney formerly known as the ABC Championship and FIBA Asia Championship.
The Philippines, then carrying the banner of Northern Consolidated, last ruled the tilt in 1985.
Despite nursing nagging injuries, reigning eight-time PBA MVP June Mar Fajardo (calf) and Calvin Oftana (sprained knees) still joined the trip that was led by naturalized star Justin Brownlee, former MVP Scottie Thompson, Jamie Malonzo, Japeth Aguilar, Chris Newsome, CJ Perez, Dwight Ramos, AJ Edu, Carl Tamayo, and Kevin Quiambao.
To stand a chance against Asia’s best, Cone is convinced the 6-foot-10 Fajardo has big shoes to fill—literally and figuratively.
“He changes the game for us. We have to play in a different way with June Mar on the floor and the only concern is that we haven’t had much practice time with him,” Cone said. “He has such an impact that you have to kind of play differently when he’s on the floor.
“So, we have to learn that difference when he’s on the floor. But we’ll see. We’ll see what’s going on with him. Hopefully, like I said, he’ll be ready.”
The battle to be the continent’s best is just around the corner and the Philippine five is more than willing to answer the call.
