Sino dapat?

tim cone gilas taiwan mustangs

PHOTO: JEROME ASCANO

GILAS Pilipinas coach Tim Cone said the team is now tinkering with the idea of adding more players to the pool following the injuries that plagued their campaign in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Riga, Latvia.

Cone said they will look at the extent of the injuries of Scottie Thompson, Jamie Malonzo, and AJ Edu, and then decide on whether it will be necessary to add players to the current pool, which is made up of 12 players and two reserves.

As much as possible, Cone said he is going to stick with the 12-man pool that was initially named, although injuries will definitely play a role in the decision-making process, moving forward.

“I don’t see making any changes to the 12 at this point as long as we continue to be healthy,” said Cone on Thursday during the PBA Draft Combine where he was present at the Ynares Sports Arena.

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“I don’t know how [when] Scottie is gonna be coming back, Jamie is still going to be out probably through the next window. We are still hoping that AJ will join us at some point,” said Cone.

The injuries hit in the months leading up to the OQT, prompting Cone to add Japeth Aguilar and Mason Amos to the pool as reserves. Both eventually became part of the team in the last Fiba window.

Last-minute scratch

Thompson later became a last-minute scratch, forcing Gilas to field only 11 players for the OQT where the nationals reached the semifinals.

Cone said any changes to the Gilas pool will be decided sometime before the November international window where the Philippines will continue its campaign in the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 qualifiers.

“We will decide at that point who to add, who to ask, and see if they are available for us. We will continue to try to stick with the original 12,” said Cone.

“There’s a reason why we wanted those three guys,” referring to Thompson, Malonzo, and Edu, “those three guys that we lacked down the line-up. That hasn’t changed. As long as they are healthy, they are going to be continuing to be part of the group.”

Even with 11 players, Gilas made a surprising run in the OQT, reaching the semifinals with an 89-80 win over world No. 6 Latvia in the opening game and losing by two points to 23rd-ranked Georgia, 94-92, in the second match.

Gilas, however, fell two wins short of a Paris Olympics berth after losing by No. 12 Brazil, 71-60.