Gilas Pilipinas head coach Tim Cone isn’t worried about the limited training time of his players together for the second window of the 2027 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers.
Despite criticisms about his decision not to expand Gilas’ pool, Cone points out that the purpose of keeping his roster lean is to retain the team’s chemistry and familiarity.
Gilas only began training as a complete body last Friday with the inclusion of Japan-based Carl Tamayo, Kevin Quiambao and 6-foot-10 Quentin Millora-Brown.
The Nationals are already a week into their training for the back-to-back homestand against powerhouse New Zealand and Australia on 26 February and 1 March, respectively, at the Mall of Asia Arena.
“That was the whole point when I was talking to the team about this program where you try to keep the team intact, so, when they come back, you only have a minimum time, but it takes just a minimal amount of time to get back into the rhythm because you know each other, you know the system,” Cone said during his interview with Noli Eala’s weekly Power & Play program.
Gilas spent a few days training at the Inspire Sports Academy in Laguna before going back to Manila for the final phase of its preparations.
“It’s just more of a refresh,” Cone stressed.
The national team will play sans 7-foot-3 Kai Sotto, who is just coming off a knee injury, while forward Jamie Malonzo opted to skip the window.
Millora-Brown is the latest to join Gilas after an initial decline. He arrived on Thursday after Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas directly talked to the Chiba Jets big man to convince him to another tour of duty after helping Gilas to back-to-back wins against Guam in his debut in the opening window.
Meanwhile, Mike Phillips, who has just been classified as a local player by FIBA, won’t be available for the second window.
Cone said as much as he wanted to have the athletic 6-foot-6 forward on board, the decision of the world governing body came a little too late.
The submission of its preliminary lineup has already ended.
“Everything came together just a little too late for this window,” Cone said.
Phillips, however, is expected to be with Gilas by July in time for the final window of the first round when the Filipinos visit the Tall Blacks and Boomers.
“Definitely, we’d like him for the next window,” Cone said.