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The 19th Asian Games have yet to start, but Gilas Pilipinas is already winning the hearts and minds of Filipinos.

Gilas coach Tim Cone swept local fans off their feet when he allowed them to watch their joint training session with the Gilas Women team last Thursday at the PhilSports Arena.

After their workout, San Miguel Corporation director Alfrancis Chua gave the fans five minutes to have their pictures taken with their basketball idols. But when Cone approached Chua, he suddenly changed his mind and increased the allotted time to 15 minutes.

Seeing Gilas — a collection of the country's most popular and wealthiest athletes — go out of their way to mingle with fans is truly heartwarming. And it won't be the last time they will see their basketball heroes as Cone has invited them anew to watch their friendly match against Changwon LG Sakers on Friday.

But just a few weeks ago, this beautiful bond between Gilas and their fans was unthinkable.

Gilas struggled to gain public support during the country's hosting of the FIBA Basketball World Cup. At the same time, their head coach, Chot Reyes, was being bashed and heckled mercilessly due to their forgettable performance.

Fans questioned Reyes's integrity as a coach, especially when he benched Kai Sotto in their first game against the Dominican Republic. He was also criticized for relying too much on National Basketball Association star Jordan Clarkson, raising speculations that he was unprepared for the world's biggest and most prestigious basketball event.

The fans inside the Smart Araneta Coliseum made their presence felt. They booed Reyes during the player introductions against Italy, prompting some of his players, like Kiefer Ravena, Rhenz Abando and Clarkson, to rush to his defense.

Even Reyes's outfit didn't escape the eyes of the public.

Social media exploded with insults, adverse reactions, and comments after Reyes flaunted an ultra-expensive Thom Browne suit during their game against Angola.

The money he spent, reportedly around P200,000, wasn't worth it as Gilas suffered a 70-80 loss to the Angolans, dealing a major blow to their chances of advancing to the knockout stages.

But his manner of coaching and posh outfit were not the only reasons Reyes struggled to deodorize his public image.

When Gilas was preparing for the World Cup, Reyes shut the doors of their practice facility to fans and sportswriters.

Instead of making the team available, the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas assigned a media liaison who disseminated information and narrated what was happening through short videos and photos regularly posted on social media.

That was the practice when Gilas trained at the Inspire Sports Academy in Calamba, as well as when they were in Estonia and Lithuania. Gilas also played friendly matches against Ivory Coast, Mexico, and Montenegro at the PhilSports Arena with no one but a very few team staffers and federation officials in attendance.

With the friendly matches being inaccessible, sportswriters had to resort to checking the social media pages of Gilas's opponents and the SBP to get information and avoid the wrath of their editors. They jokingly called it "socmed journalism."

That's why the appointment of Cone as Gilas' head coach is a breath of fresh air.

The 65-year-old Cone may be an American, but he knows the importance of gaining public approval.

In fact, he started his career as a villain in the eyes of the masses after engaging with the charismatic Robert Jaworski in numerous coaching battles. But he let his coaching do the talking as he led Alaska to a grand slam in 1996 before winning another triple crown with San Mig Coffee in 2014.

At Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, the most popular professional team in the country, Cone further cemented his reputation as a well-loved, well-respected coach when he turned the likes of LA Tenorio, Japeth Aguilar, Scottie Thompson and Justin Brownlee into fan favorites.

Now, Cone is at the helm of Gilas Pilipinas, armed with a mission of not only winning an Asian Games medal but also bringing the national players closer to the public.

It's a tough order. But Cone is carrying it out to perfection.