‘Honestly, if we’re not qualified, then probably we wouldn’t do the Doha trip because we want to focus on Taiwan and New Zealand. And try to make sure we play our best during those games.’
Gilas head coach Tim Cone admits the hectic schedule could eventually help the players get ready for the FIBA Asia Cup this August.
Photograph Courtesy of FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers
National team head coach Tim Cone is looking at the big picture of building team chemistry and priming up Gilas Pilipinas for the main draw of the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup in August in Saudi Arabia.
Cone plans to use Gilas’ Doha trip and the third window of the Asia Cup qualifier to gauge the squad’s competitiveness and reintroduce returning players AJ Edu and Jamie Malonzo and new recruit Troy Rosario to his system.
“We’re gonna use this trip and his window as a chance to prepare (for the Asia Cup),” Cone said.
“We felt that since we’re trying to bring in AJ to the team and Troy as it turns out. But AJ is really the target. We felt we needed more games, more than two games, before we play FIBA Asia in August,” he added.
Gilas has a busy schedule ahead as they are set to leave the country on 13 February for a five-game training camp in Qatar.
There, the Filipinos will participate in the 2nd Doha Invitational Cup where they will take on Qatar, Lebanon and Egypt running from 14 to 16 February.
“From what we understand from our schedule we probably have about five days of prep before we play FIBA Asia. So, it doesn’t give us much time to go out and do anything. This is our chance so we’re gonna take advantage of it,” the decorated mentor said.
Gilas will return to Manila for a quick respite before heading back on the road to play host Chinese-Taipei on 20 February before proceeding to New Zealand for a rematch against the Tall Blacks on the 23rd.
“It’s going to be really tough. It’s going to be really hard on the players, all the travel going to Doha back to Manila, and then to Taiwan and then over to Hong Kong I think it is, and then down to Auckland,” Cone said.
“We’re gonna be doing a lot of traveling in a about less than eight or nine day-time. But we want it hard that’s the whole point. We want it hard because this is about prep.”
The Nationals are coming into the final qualifying window without pressure as they are already through to the FIBA Asia Cup proper set from 5 to 17 August in Jeddah.
Gilas are unbeaten in four outings in Group B after sweeping the first two windows last year.
“Honestly, if we’re not qualified, then probably we wouldn’t do the Doha trip because we want to focus on Taiwan and New Zealand. And try to make sure we play our best during those games,” Cone bared.
“But we are qualified, so we’re not concerned so much about the qualifications now as much as we are concerned about the actual FIBA Asia tournament,” he added.
“So, we’re gonna use this time as a chance to prepare for the FIBA Asia. It’s early but that’s the only time we’re gonna have so we’re gonna take advantage of the times we have to do it.”
Malonzo and Edu will make their return after missing Gilas’ FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament campaign in Riga, Latvia as well as the Asia Cup Qualifier second window in Manila last November.
Rosario, on the other hand, is back wearing the tricolors four years after his last stint as a replacement for 7-foot-3 center Kai Sotto, who sustained a torn anterior cruciate ligament.
Bannering Gilas in Doha are naturalized player Justin Brownlee, Kevin Quiambao, June Mar Fajardo, Scottie Thompson, Chris Newsome, Calvin Oftana, CJ Perez, Dwight Ramos, Carl Tamayo, Mason Amos, Rosario, Malonzo and Edu.
Veteran forward Japeth Aguilar is skipping the trip due to personal reasons but will join the squad as a reserve in the third window.
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