GILAS Pilipinas’ young guns can spell the big difference in international tournaments.
While the battle-grizzled veterans will play big roles for the Nationals, coach Tim Cone is already keeping an eye out on the future.
“We wanted a group that’s both veteran and young. One thing that helped in my career, you develop your team through young players,” Cone said on the Power and Play program hosted by former PBA Commissioner Noli Eala. “They improve and get better. But if you want to win now, you win with the veterans.
“So, we have a veteran group, and we have a young group,” he added.
Bannered by naturalized star Justin Brownlee, the likes of Scottie Thompson, Jamie Malonzo, Chris Newsome, Calvin Oftana, CJ Perez, June Mar Fajardo, Dwight Ramos, AJ Edu, Carl Tamayo, Kai Sotto, and Kevin Quiambao make up the national team training pool where Cone will pick his lineup for coming overseas tilts.
Cone is pinning his hopes on a balanced mix of veterans and upstarts.
“The veterans show the way to the young group. We try to be as good as we can be right now and still having room for growth,” Cone said.
“The young, like Carl, Kai Sotto, Kevin Quiambao, then you got the veterans June Mar, Scottie, Chris Newsome, and a veteran naturalized player in Justin Brownlee. That’s a mix that’s very important for us.”
Gilas will launch its bid on the road against Hong Kong on Feb. 22 and will square off with Chinese Taipei three days later at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig.
The second round of the qualifiers is set for Nov. 21 and Nov. 24.
The Filipino cagers face a tall task–seemingly a Mission Impossible–to clinch a slot in the Paris Olympics in July.
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.
