Cone banking on ‘usual suspects’

Given the limited preparation time, Gilas Pilipinas head coach Tim Cone believes fielding the “usual suspects” alongside a couple of additions is the most logical choice heading into the 2027 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers.

Gilas only has six training days before plunging into action against Syria to start the crucial fifth window on 27 November in Malaysia.

The Filipinos will take on Iran on the 29th, with Gilas hoping for a sweep of the qualifiers’ penultimate stop to stay in the hunt for a fourth straight entry to the world stage next year in Qatar.

Only debuting naturalized player Bennie Boatwright and high-flying Rhenz Abando are added into the 12-man roster.

“That’s the whole point, because we only have six days of practice,” Cone said.

The decorated mentor has underscored the importance of having players who already know his system and have already built chemistry through the previous windows.

“That idea of continuity and having these guys together through the windows give us an opportunity to come in with everybody knowing it,” he said.

Gilas will only get to train on the 21st when the Manila-based and overseas-based members converge in Malaysia.

Seven-foot-3 Kai Sotto leads the familiar faces in the Gilas roster alongside returning overseas-based players 6-foot-10 Quentin Millora-Brown and 6-foot-7 Mike Phillips.

Mainstays Dwight Ramos, AJ Edu, Kevin Quiambao, Juan Gomez de Liaño, CJ Perez, Scottie Thompson and Chris Newsome are also back for another tour of duty.

Boatwright, who just completed his naturalization last month, will march in his maiden Gilas stint as a replacement for injured Justin Brownlee. Abando, on the other hand, will be donning the tricolors for the first time since his last stint three years ago.

“Of course, Bennie is the outlier here and he obviously is a really important outlier; there’s nothing we can do about that. But everybody else is coming in, pretty much knows what we’re doing,” Cone said.

The national squad will have two-a-day practice sessions once Boatwright arrives in Malaysia on 23 November from China as Gilas crams in its buildup.

“What we’re trying to do is get continuity. And so for us, it’s really all those guys who know the system or guys who understand the system,” Cone explained.

“If we bring in three or four new guys or five guys, we’ve got Bennie, who is also new. And then we got six days of preparation — three with Bennie — we’re not going to be very good. So, we’re trying to keep that continuity going.”