Ginebra’s core in Gilas

It will be an all Filipino team devoid of naturalized player. #Gilas #TimCone

TIM Cone (center), SBP president Al Panlilio (left) and PBA chairman Ricky Vargas bare the lineup of the men's basketball team for the 30th SEA Games on Thursday, 26 September 2019.

The core of Barangay Ginebra San Miguel — the most popular basketball team in the country — will carry the torch for Gilas Pilipinas in the 30th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games that the country will host from 30 November to 11 December.

National team coach Tim Cone, also the mentor of the Ging Kings in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA), named Greg Slaughter, Japeth Aguilar, LA Tenorio, Scottie Thompson, Stanley Pringle and Art dela Cruz in the 15-man pool Thursday after his meeting with the PBA board of governors.

“We came up with the idea of maybe we should go with a team that I am familiar with, Ginebra. Maybe go for that and reinforce it like they did back in 1994 (national team),”said Cone, referring to Norman Black’s 1994 Asian Games squad that carried the San Miguel Beer core and was reinforced by a couple of amateur standouts and a few young PBA players.

“It’s not about getting the best players to go. It’s about getting the best team to get it with a short period of time. It will be an all Filipino group and we will not have any naturalized player on the team,” he added.

Also in the 15-man pool are Beermen June Mar Fajardo, Marcio Lassiter, Christian Standhardinger and Chris Ross, TNT KaTropa’s Jayson Castro, RR Pogoy and Troy Rosario, Alaska’s Vic Manuel and Matthew Wright of Phoenix.

Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) president Al Panlilio also attended the meeting and thanked the San Miguel Corp. for releasing Cone to the Gilas.

“We thanked San Miguel for allowing coach Tim to handle the SEA Games despite the short notice,” Panlilio said.

With only eight weeks to prepare, Cone, who last handled the national team in 1998 after leading the Centennial Team to a bronze-medal finish in the Asian Games, decided to follow the formula of Black in the 1994 Asiad meet in Hiroshima, Japan.

Dong Polistico, Allan Caidic, Ato Agustin, Franz Pumaren, Alvin Teng and Hector Calma composed the core of San Miguel Beer that was reinforced by Jerry Codinera, Rey Evangelista and Alvin Patrimonio of Purefoods, Johnny Abarrientos of Alaska and amateurs Kenneth Duremdes and Marlou Aquino of Adamson University.

The team finished fourth in the quadrennial event.

But this time, there will be no amateur team in the Gilas squad as what Panlilio initiated last week.

The SBP has submitted a 24-man pool to the Philippine Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee with eight college players in the list.

“As for the selection of the 15, we didn’t add the young PBA players or amateurs because of the short window we have to prepare,” said Cone, who will start training on Monday.

“We just don’t have the practice time for tryouts.”

“That’s why we came up with that idea because of short window we are given. Maybe we need a team I’m familiar with that’s why there are six Ginebra players and reinforce it. With only eight to 10 practices, that seemed to be the best course of action.”

Cone made special mention of Manuel, the hard-working Aces forward who he thinks can dominate the biennial meet.

“Vic is one of my personal choices. I’m excited about Vic because I think Vic would be a dominant player in the Southeast Asian level. He can bang with big guys down there, he got that sweet jump shot that’s the reason why we put him in there. He’s tough minded, he can intimidate people,” Cone said.

Also in the same meeting, the pool for the 3×3 event was also named and will be handled by NLEX assistant Ronnie Magsanoc.

In the pool are Anthony Semerad, Robert Bolick, Chris Newsome, Terrence Romeo, Ian Sangalang, Mac Belo, Chris Banchero, Raymond Almazan, CJ Perez, Jason Perkins, Mo Tautuaa and Baser Amer.