Barangay Ginebra head coach Tim Cone vows not to hold back his players who are seeing action for Gilas Pilipinas to preserve them for next week’s Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner’s Cup semifinals.
Five Kings led by resident import and naturalized player Justin Brownlee are suiting up for the national squad in the ongoing third window of the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers.
Cone braces for a tough best-of-seven series against a hungry top-seeded NorthPort starting 26 February at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. But for now, the national cause comes first.
“We’re not gonna save anybody. We’re not gonna save anybody for the (PBA) semifinals,” the Gilas mentor said in an interview on One Sports’ “Play by Play.”
The national team is playing Chinese Taipei in Taiwan as of press time before flying to New Zealand to face the Tall Blacks in a much-anticipated rematch on Sunday in the final qualifying leg of the Asia Cup unfurling on 5 August in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
“If Justin has to play 40 minutes a game against Taiwan and New Zealand to win those games, he’s gonna play 40 minutes a game. That’s the sacrifice that we have to make,” Cone said.
“We’ll worry about it when we come home and get into the semifinals series.”
Aside from Brownlee, Ginebra also loaned top guard Scottie Thompson, veteran forward Japeth Aguilar, athletic winger Jamie Malonzo and reserve Troy Rosario.
Ginebra players have logged considerable playing time during Gilas’ goodwill games against Qatar, Lebanon and Egypt in a brief training camp in Doha last week before hitting the road for a couple of away matches.
But while Cone acknowledges the risk of wear and tear among his PBA players, they must also fulfill their duty for the country.
“It’s definitely an issue. (But) that’s just part of the sacrifice that you do for the national team,” the 25-time PBA champion tactician explained.
“It was done before us when Chot (Reyes) coached the team (Gilas) and he had four, five or six Talk ‘N Text players that were there. They had to go through that,” he added.
“I remember our game where Chot will oversee his coaching, in the middle of the finals he couldn’t coach here. They lost the game in which he wasn’t here. It’s just part of the sacrifice that you make. And these are the things you deal with when you’re coaching or playing for the national team. The things that you just have to overcome.”
Cone also believes that his Ginebra players would come out sharper after their Gilas stint and would carry the momentum of playing against high-caliber international opposition into the semis.
“The guys who are playing in Gilas, they’re gonna be playing at a high level because they have to, to be able to compete Taiwan and New Zealand and the like,” he said. MARK ESCARLOTE
“So, naturally that’s gonna sharpen their game I think, that’s gonna make them better.”
The Kings need the exposure and experience before going into a collision course with their elimination round tormentor Batang Pier.