Gilas Pilipinas’ quest for back-to-back gold medal finishes at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games began after the plane carrying the crew to South Korea took off on Wednesday.

An all-Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) stars-composed Philippine squad lifted off from Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1, hoping to return home after a couple of weeks with the shiny hardware hanging around their necks.

Gilas is off to Korea for the final stretch of its preparations for the Asiad.

The team, led by 2-25 Southeast Asian Games gold medalist Robert Bolick on NLEX, will play two friendlies against its Korean counterparts before flying to Nagoya to start its repeat bid on 7 September.

The Asian Games men’s basketball competition will begin on 10 September, nine days before the official opening of 20th edition of the prestigious continental sports meet.

Head coach Tim Cone, fresh from steering a different Gilas lineup to a two-game homestand sweep in the fourth window of the 2027 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers over the weekend, has full confidence in the current team despite its lack of size.

Speed, quickness and good shooting, especially from downtown, are the strengths of the Asiad-bound Gilas, which Cone would like to take advantage of to compensate for his vertically-challenged team.

“From what I’ve seen from that team, they’re a lot of fun to watch,” Cone said.

Joining Bolick in the squad are San Miguel Beer’s Don Trollano and Jerrick Ahanmisi, Blackwater’s Sedrick Barefield, Magnolia’s Zav Lucero, Rain or Shine’s Adrian Nocum, TNT’s Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser and Meralco’s Brandon Bates.

Also reinforcing the team FIBA window team members are Barangay Ginebra point guard RJ Abarrientos and Converge twin towers Justin Arana, and Justine Baltazar.

Baltazar saw limited minutes in the World Cup qualifiers while Arana replaced injured Carl Tamayo in the second game against Iran; however, he was not fielded during the match. Abarrientos, on the other hand, was Gilas’ FIBA window reserve.

The three are expected to play bigger roles this time when Gilas opens its campaign against Bahrain in Group C on 11 September.

“I think the fans and the countrymen are going to have a lot of fun watching that team,” Cone said.

Gilas has also reserved a slot for naturalized player Justin Brownlee, who is still recovering from injuries.

The 38-year-old workhorse and hero of the country’s breakthrough Asiad gold medal, ending a 61-year wait in the pandemic-delayed Hangzhou edition three years ago, has yet to show up after returning to the United States for recovery and rehabilitation.

Brownlee last suited up for Gilas back on 3 July in a 102-106 road loss to New Zealand in Auckland in the third window of the World Cup qualifiers.

He sat out Gilas’ final game of the first round against Australia in Perth and missed the entire second round opener against Jordan and Iran at home.

“So, we’ve opened up a spot for Justin. We’ll see if he ends up showing up,” Cone said of the four-time PBA Best Import.

The Asiad Gilas has been practicing for the past two weeks and played a couple of scrimmages against the FIBA window team to build chemistry and develop familiarity.

While Cone was busy with the FIBA window, his deputies handled the Asian Games crew.