A TEAM with a collection of pro league All-Stars does not guarantee a sure gold medal in the 30th Southeast Asian Games.
Take it from Gilas Pilipinas coach Tim Cone, the winningest tactician in the pros.
“Our challenge at this point is to make sure we’re not an All-Star team. We don’t wanna play like an All-Star team. We gotta bring more than just being a bunch of good players playing together. And that’s what All-Star teams are,” Cone was quoted as saying by online sports portal ESPN 5.
“You bring a bunch of guys, they have limited practice, they go out and they play, they don’t have any concepts in terms of defense. Not really a real desire play defense. And we wanna get beyond that,” he added.
Gilas’ readiness for the games will be tested anew when it battles San Miguel Alab Pilipinas tonight in a tune-up match at the Meralco Gym in Pasig.
The scrimmage, which will be played behind closed-doors, is set at 6 p.m., with the nationals eyeing a repeat of their close 98-95 decision over Alab last Nov. 4.
With top playmaker Jayson Castro sidelined by a muscle strain injury, Cone tapped NLEX star Kiefer Ravena to replace Castro in the 15-man national team training pool.
