MANILA, Philippines — Tim Cone expects Kazakhstan to be a handful just like in the past tournaments when Gilas Pilipinas defends its Asian Games men’s basketball title which begins on September 11 in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan. The Philippines has been drawn in Group C with Kazakhstan, Bahrain and long-time Asian basketball king China.
Judging from the way the Kazakhs have played against the Filipinos, Cone is bracing for a tough battle heading to the quadrennial games.
“I haven’t heard which team (is tough), but if it’s Kazakhstan, we played them in the past and they are tough and we know they are a big team,” said Cone, who is tasked to handle two sets of Gilas squads.
The other Gilas side will be the team that’s set to prepare for the next 10 days before plunging into action against Jordan on Aug. 28, followed by Iran in the second round of the FIBA World Cup 2027 Asian Qualifiers.
The good thing is, Gilas will be playing at its home floor with the SM Mall of Asia Arena as the main venue.
Other than Kazakhstan, the Philippines expects another uphill battle with China, whom the national side defeated, 77-76, in the semifinals of the 2023 Asiad edition That game saw Gilas essay a memorable and historic comeback from a 20-point deficit with Justin Brownlee leading at the front.
“The plan is for me to handle the window until we get it done and then to transfer to the Asiad team,” Cone said, referring to his hands-on approach first for the coming FIBA window, before shifting his attention to the Asian Games.
Cone’s deputies will be handling the Gilas squad that will be preparing for the Asian Games team.
The American mentor said he expects the Gilas squad for the Asian Games to be dominated by PBA players since Dwight Ramos, AJ Edu, Carl Tamayo, and Kevin Quiambao— all playing in the Japan and Korean pro leagues won’t be available.
“So, we just decided that we would pretty much bring an all-PBA contingent for the Asian Games along with Justin [Brownlee],” Cone said.
