Newly designated men’s national basketball head coach Time Cone said he will devote more focus building the defensive form of Gilas Pilipinas, which only has a little more than two weeks of preparation for the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.
“My first step (after building to team) is to focus on my style. It (team) should be a defense-oriented team and that’s gonna be our edge, “said Tim Cone.
The multi-titled Ginebra admitted that with only a short preparation, he will have to rely on the individual skills of his players, to be built around the current World Cup pool, including his wards Justin Brownlee, JuneMar Fajardo, Scottie Thompson and Japeth Aguilar.
“We already have a solid eight and we will just add. We also need shooters like Calvin Oftana (of TNT Tropang Giga),” said Cone, who was Chot Reyes’ assistant at Gilas before the latter resigned from his post just after the team completed its World Cup games.
The Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas and the Philippine Basketball Association jointly announced the appointment of Cone on Wednesday night and promised that the final lineup will be completed on the first day of practice on Monday.
Cone and his coaching staff have set the final call on Monday and only those who are present will be included in the team.
“Some were convinced to come back, and some cannot decide yet. How long do we have for them? The decision was to set a deadline and that is on Monday,” said PBA chairman Ricky Vargas.
Among those Cone requested to be his assistant is LA Tenorio, who just recently completed his cancer treatment in Singapore.
“He (Tenorio) will be able to help the team a lot and share his experience and leadership,” added Cone.
The Philippines has been drawn with Jordan, Thailand, and Bahrain in the group stage of the basketball event of the quadrennial multi-meet event where it aspires to improve its fifth-place finish in the 2018 edition in Jakarta, Indonesia
Gilas will take on Bahrain, Thailand, and Jordan on Sept. 26, 28, and 30, respectively, in the preliminary round.