WHO will be Gilas Pilipinas’ new permanent coach?
That is still hanging in the air, for now.
Ginebra tactician Tim Cone said he and Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas President Al Panlilio will meet soon but it will not be about the national team’s coaching job.
“He (Panlilio) said that he will contact me, and we will talk but it’s not about the position,” Cone said. “It’s just about the general vision of how the program is going to move forward.
“I think he wants to get some of my ideas. But no, there has been no talk,” he added.
Cone steered the Philippine five to a historic gold medal in the 19th Hangzhou Asian Games that ended the country’s 61-year dry spell in the sport most cherished by Filipinos.
He took the Gilas reins in the Asiad on an interim basis but with the FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers and the Paris Olympic qualifying tournament set for next year, Cone may just have a change of heart.
“I’ve been saying a couple of times publicly that it’s a complex question because there’s not a simple answer to that,” Cone said. “There are so many things that go on in terms of how the vision is going to be done.
“It was a simple answer for me to do the Asian Games because I’m going to do it from here to here. It’s very finite. We had a full vision. We knew what we wanted to do and how we wanted to do it. We rolled with the punches. Things happen, we get hit, but we keep rolling and moving forward.”
There are also a lot of questions that need answers before Cone decides whether to call the shots for the Filipino cagers anew.
“How are things gonna work? Where are we going? We’re going with me to the conference. How are we gonna do the window, two weeks before?” Cone said. “Or you wanna hire somebody full-time? Is there enough work for a full-time head coach on the national team?
“We only have two to three windows next year. There’s no World Cup, no Asian Games, not even a Southeast Asian Games next year.”
The players’ availability will also be crucial moving forward, according to Cone.
“All the players are going to play in the PBA, Japan, or Korea. There’s no access to them unless the leagues shut down. How long do the leagues shut down to do a one-weekend window?” he posed.
“Those are very complex questions and there’s no simple answer to them. Those need to be decided before you decide who is gonna lead that team.”
