MANILA, Philippines — A disappointed Gilas Pilipinas coach Tim Cone admitted that Monday’s embarrassing loss to China in the 20th Asian Games group stage is a strong reminder that the Philippines can’t afford to not to bring its best players to international play and expect to win.
Cone’s statement came at the heels of Gilas’ 105-61 manhandling at the hands of a vengeful China side that ended the country’s hopes for a back-to-back Asian Games men’s basketball crown.
“Not sure what to say. Deeply disappointed we couldn't get to the quarters. But it's a reminder for us that if we don't or can't bring our best players to these international events, we won't excel,” Cone told The Manila Times.
The American meant no disrespect to the Gilas team that competed in the Asian Games, but there’s no doubt that the country’s best players led by Kai Sotto, AJ Edu, Dwight Ramos, along with Mike Phillips, Kevin Quiambao and Carl Tamayo are needed if they hope to win in the international stage.
“We brought some really good players, but we didn't bring our best players. It would have been nice to have Kai and AJ and Q and Mike Philips and Dwight and KQ and Carl and the like, but they weren't permitted from their mother teams,” he stressed.
“We would have liked Justin (Brownlee) and Bennie (Boatwright, or even Jordan Clarkson), but none were available, and it's not easy an easy process to naturalize players like it is in other countries,” he added.
“Even JunMar (Fajardo) would have made an impact. But, hey, the guys we had played their hearts out. We were just oversized by the other teams.” Still, Cone can’t help but commend the national side that played in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, citing the players as a “great group of guys who loved playing for their country,” he said. While Cone could be well aware of how passionate Filipino fans voice their sentiments on Gilas’ failure to defend the crown, he insists the loss was never the players’ fault.
“It wasn't their fault that we couldn't add size to their roster to help them out. They gave their all,” he said.
The Philippines bowed out with a 1-2 record, carrying an inferior quotient compared to Jordan and Saudi Arabia, which emerged as the two best third-placed teams despite carrying similar win-loss cards with Gilas.
The Philippines’ lone victory came against Kazakhstan, 109-78.
