Newly appointed Gilas Pilipinas head coach Tim Cone has issued his first order of business: keep the 12 cagers he named in the updated pool of prospects.
Considering the program’s frequency of adjusting its roster in the past, the Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings’ mentor aims to keep the current shortlist intact for at least four years, while open to incurring minor adjustments along the way.
Gilas Pilipinas’ current landscape includes PBA stand-outs and national team regulars Scottie Thompson, Chris Newsome, Calvin Oftana, CJ Perez, Jamie Malonzo, and June Mar Fajardo, along with Filipino Japan B.League imports, Dwight Ramos, AJ Edu, Carl Tamayo, and Kai Sotto.
Recent UAAP champion and Strong Group Athletics frontcourt Kevin Quiambao joins the mix with evergreen naturalized option Justin Brownlee.
Integrating this approach, Cone draws similarities between Gilas Pilipinas and international professional squads, hoping to construct a cohesive unit that will permanently represent the country in overseas contests.
“The team is going to stay together through every window,” he mentioned during the Philippine Sportswriters Association awards at the Diamond Hotel last Monday, January 29, 2024.
“As we are saying, we want to keep this team intact because every time we either grow from the success or failure that we have. It kinda looks like a PBA team or NBA team or B.League team, any kind of basketball team, you keep a team together as much as you can and you try to get them together and learn from the failures and successes,” he continued.
