Cone eyes 30-man Asian Games pool

Gilas Pilipinas is bracing for the worst-case scenario as it prepares a 30-man pool for the 20th Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan from 19 September to 4 October.

Gilas coach Tim Cone said they want to have all bases covered in the event the organizing committee makes a last-minute change of eligibility rules in the prestigious quadrennial meet.

The 68-year-old Barangay Ginebra mentor even cited what happened in the 33rd Southeast Asian Games in Thailand last December in which some players were declared ineligible, leaving Gilas coach Norman Black scrambling for players at the last minute.

Aside from the previous SEA Games, Cone also had a harrowing experience in the 19th Asian Games in China in 2023 that saw him deploying a rag-tag squad en route to winning the title.

“They may eliminate Fil-Ams or naturalized players. You just don’t know. You saw what happened in the Southeast Asian Games as well,” Cone said.

“We don’t know all the eligibility rules that are going to happen. Last Asian Games, we had a long list put together and there were a lot of players on there that didn’t get eligible.”

Based on the rules, holders of a valid passport of the country they wish to represent will be eligible to see action in the Asian Games.

With that, the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas could assemble a solid squad featuring naturalized players Justine Brownlee and Ange Kouame and Bennie Boatwright, pending the granting of his application for naturalization, together with local players like Mike Phillips, AJ Edu, Kai Sotto and Kevin Quiambao.

Cone said they are doing their best to have as many players available so that familiarity and chemistry won’t be an issue for Gilas.