PLAYING with a new set of players for Gilas Pilipinas will hopefully do wonders when the Philippines defend its Asian Games gold medal in Nagoya, Japan this September.
Head coach Tim Cone is expected to lose several members of the Gilas Pilipinas squad, particularly Asian imports Dwight Ramos and AJ Edu who plays in Japan’s B.League as well as Kevin Quiambao, who competes in the Korean Basketball League.
Cone, through a discussion with the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas, recently submitted a 30-man list composed of some of the best players in the PBA.
“Ideally, it would have been great to take the team in the (FIBA World Cup 2027 Asian Qualifiers) window to move to (play in the) Asian Games, and have that continuity, so we don’t need to reassemble a bunch of guys again,” Cone said.
“However, on the other side of the coin, you got (the team) worn out playing because the last time we had to travel from Auckland to Perth, then come in and play right away against Australia without Justin (Brownlee) and that puts us behind. Coming in again, with the Asian Games team, they’re gonna be fresh, gonna be motivated, and not gonna be the same old, same old.”
Other than Ramos, Edu and Quiambao, and possibly Kai Sotto, whose status remains uncertain, Quentin Millora-Brown and Mike Phillips are also not available, leaving the Philippine team for the Asian Games lacking in size.
Based on the Asian Games eligibility rules, players only need to show their passports regardless of when they were issued.
That rule will be favorable for the Philippines as Cone now has a chance to try to include some Filipino foreign players and add more than one naturalized player to the team. RICHARD DY
