Cone is all praise of coach Black and the hastily-formed ‘C’ team

GILAS PILIPINAS remained as the region’s basketball yardstick when the smoke cleared in the 33^rd Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Bangkok. But for Gilas “A” team head coach Tim Cone, that stature should have never been in doubt — much more challenged by anyone — especially if the country was allowed to send its best possible squad.

“Maybe I shouldn’t say this because I don’t want to take anything away. But if we had brought the A team to Southeast Asian Games, it wouldn’t have been close, obviously,” said Mr. Cone, giving credits to his long-time friend Norman Black for fighting against all odds to make it happen.

“Especially if Kai (Sotto) had played. Imagine if Kai was playing along with June Mar (Fajardo), AJ (Edu) (and) Quentin (Millora-Brown), you know. But it worked out well. It was dicey and it should be so kudos to them. I’m proud of them.”

Gilas, under the brilliance of PBA Grand Slam and five-peat UAAP champion coach Mr. Black, got the job done in Thailand via a gutsy tournament sweep capped by a 70-64 win against the hosts for its second straight and 20^th overall gold — the most in history.

But it wasn’t a walk in the park all throughout as Gilas had to move heavens and Earth just to field a contender lineup after Thailand implemented rule changes one after another that shattered the Gilas’ original lineup. Officiating in the finale with Thailand shooting 37 free throws compared to Gilas’ 17 was also a dilemma.

With Mr. Cone’s A team out due to the SEA Games not being included in the FIBA calendar, the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas formed a still competitive “B” squad only for half of it to be deemed ineligible by the hosts. Among the few were naturalized player Justin Brownlee, Mike Phillips, Remy Martin and Jason Brickman.

Robert Bolick, Jamie Malonzo, Poy Erram, Dalph Panopio, Abu Tratter, Von Pessumal, Justin Chua and Cedrick Manzano came in as late replacements, leading to what pundits and fans called as the “C” team that nonetheless delivered the goods for Team Philippines.

They joined holdovers Ray Parks, Jr., Matthew Wright, Thirdy Ravena and Veejay Pre, who also impressed Mr. Cone and could be in the running for Gilas A team if not for the need for continuity of his core, especially without months of preparation in each tourney.

And while Mr. Cone is not liking the A, B and C tags on Gilas teams, it would have been a cakewalk for the Philippines had it sent the strongest unit possible like it did in the 2019 SEA Games at home.

“That’s because we brought the supposedly A team. We had everybody,” said Mr. Cone on his Gilas squad that steamrolled the region with a whopping winning margin average of 47.3 points in the 31^st edition, including a 115-81 demolition of Thailand in the finals.

Gilas then fielded a full-blooded Filipino lineup without any naturalized player like Mr. Brownlee as LA Tenorio, Stanley Pringle, Chris Ross, Roger Pogoy, Marcio Lassiter, Matthew Wright, Kiefer Ravena and Vic Manuel got the job done behind the triple towers of Christian Standhardinger, Japeth Aguilar and now nine-time PBA MVP Mr. Fajardo.

Now, Mr. Cone has an equally if not better arsenal made up of PBA superstars and Filipino imports from the Japan B.League and Korean Basketball League who mainly competes in FIBA-sanctioned tournaments and is currently preparing for the 2026 Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan and the ongoing 2027 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers.

Standing tall for Gilas’ main team are Messrs. Brownlee, Fajardo, Sotto, Edu, Millora-Brown, Malonzo, Scottie Thompson, CJ Perez, Kevin Quiambao, Carl Tamayo, Chris Newsome and Calvin Oftana along with additions Juan Gomez de Liaño, Troy Rosario and RJ Abarrientos.

And that’s what made the SEAG gold medal run of Mr. Black’s wards way sweeter, still retaining the pride and glory of the country in spite of a hastily-formed squad with little to no preparation and chemistry that still played their hearts out with resilience via comeback win in each and every game.

“They did a great job of fighting. I think everybody forgets how great a coach Norman (Black) is. The guy’s a championship coach. I had no doubts. I know other people did, but I had no doubts. I’ve been against him so many times,” said Mr. Cone.

“I’m really happy for him that he has that chance to remind everybody of how good a coach he is. And not only is he a great coach, he’s a great person. And he really loves his adopted country. And he’ll do anything for it. So, kudos for him. I’m really proud that he’s a friend of mine and that he was able to do that.” — John Bryan Ulanday