Gilas to form two squads for Fiba qualifiers, Asian Games

Coach Tim Cone will be shooting for success on two fronts over the next month when he prepares Gilas Pilipinas for the Fiba World Cup Asian Qualifiers and the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.

Cone will begin preparations for the Asian Qualifiers on Monday, building a Gilas Pilipinas squad likely to differ from the one that will campaign at the Asian Games.

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“We’re going to practice [for the two events] separately,” Cone said. “The plan for me is to handle the window until we get it done and then transfer to the Asian Games team.”

Cone will begin preparations for the Asian Qualifiers on Monday, with the aim of beating Jordan and Iran in front of a home crowd on Aug. 28 and Aug. 30 at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Once he gets both fixtures out of the way, the PBA’s winningest coach will then begin the task of pruning a list of 30 players down for the Gilas roster that will defend the Asiad crown which Gilas Pilipinas won three years ago in historic and dramatic fashion. The basketball competition of the Asian Games tips off on Sept. 10, nine days before the continental event formally opens.

The Gilas Pilipinas team that will shoot for a World Cup berth will be composed of the usual suspects, including those based in Japan and South Korea like fan favorites Dwight Ramos and Kevin Quiambao. PBA regulars like Juan Gomez de Liano and Scottie Thompson, who returned to action for Barangay Ginebra in Friday’s loss to Meralco, are also expecting call-ups.

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Justin Brownlee is also set to return after injuries to his hamstring, knee and leg forced him to miss Gilas’ final game of the third window and the initial half of Ginebra’s PBA Governors’ Cup campaign.

Brownlee, due to arrive Sunday, is also set to don the Gilas colors for the Asian Games, where Cone is likely to form an all-PBA squad due to availability concerns of the national team standouts seeing club action in other countries.

The only common look between both Fiba and Asiad teams is the players they will likely miss.

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Quentin Millora-Brown and Mike Phillips are out for health and personal reasons, while Kai Sotto, who spent the past months playing pickup games in his hometown of Las Piñas but is set to be eyeing a US NCAA stint as a backdoor route for his NBA ambition, is once again unlikely to play for Gilas.

Cone will have a lot of names available for the continental Games, as those who aren’t eligible as locals for Fiba tournaments are allowed to suit up in the Asian Games, which only requires a Philippine passport for eligibility.

Rain or Shine’s Adrian Nocum, Blackwater’s Sedrick Barefield, Meralco’s Brandon Bates and Magnolia’s Zavier Lucero are some of the names listed in the initial Asiad pool.

“A lot of them will be some who have played in the past with Gilas, but haven’t been a part of these windows that we’ve been part of,” Cone said. “But we can still get maybe one or two or three from the window team to join. But the bulk of the team will be new for the Asian Games.”

As part of the buildup, Gilas will head to South Korea to train. The Filipinos will also battle the Korean national team before going to Japan. INQ