MANILA, Philippines — Gilas Pilipinas coach Tim Cone said if there’s one thing he reiterated to the players during their initial meeting over a year ago, it’s wearing the Philippine team jersey with pride, while setting aside the desire to monetize playing for the national squad.
Cone shared a lengthy explanation of how he envisioned the Gilas program to be the moment he accepted the role over a year ago to handle the Philippine team in its bid to earn spots in the 2027 FIBA World Cup and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
“We had a program from Day 1, we had it very clear to everyone, in our first Zoom meeting when we brought the original 12 guys, there’s not gonna be anybody who’s gonna be making more money than somebody else, but whatever was going to be given, it was really, ‘take it or leave it,’” Cone said in a guest appearance during last Saturday’s Power and Play sports program by former PBA commissioner Noli Eala.
“Whether you join or not join, it was just a philosophy that if you’re here with this group, with Gilas, if you’re there, because you want to make money or big salary whatever, it’s a wrong place for you to be,” he added.
Instead, the PBA’s all-time winningest coach emphasized that playing high-level basketball against the world’s best, and using Gilas as a way to test their limits, these are what they could expect if they choose to sign up and play for the national team.
“If you want to take pride, walk around the city and be able to see your family and say, ‘I’ll be one of the 12 guys that can say you’re on the national team,’ this is the place you wanna be in. But if you’re there to make fabulous salaries, that ain’t gonna happen,” stressed Cone.
Cone gave a lengthy explanation on the expectations laid down early on to members of the Gilas pool, following reports circulating online that some players were seeking bigger compensation packages as they play for Gilas in the coming window 2 of the FIBA World Cup 2027 Asian Qualifiers in a pair of home games against New Zealand and Australia.
“We’re gonna treat everybody equal. That’s what we are stuck to,” he said.
The 68-year-old Gilas mentor also pointed out that the national team faces its own budget considerations today, unlike the FIBA World Cup in 2023, which the Philippines co-hosted with Japan and Indonesia.
“We have definite budget constraints. It’s not like it was (the 2023 FIBA) World Cup time, when the budget was huge because we were hosting it. (Back then) we’re looking at trying to generate income from that World Cup, and that makes sense to make sure we have all the players,” reasoned Cone.
“It’s just like a PBA team. In the PBA, you want to generate income but the SBP (Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas) is not looking to generate income, that’s not why they are there, maybe some of the sponsors are, but not the SBP. This is what we came up with everybody,” he said.