Will Tim Cone, Alfrancis Chua return as Gilas head coach and team manager?

Despite a short amount of preparation and a lot of issues beforehand, Gilas Pilipinas was able to complete a miracle run in the 19th Asian Games as the nationals delivered the country's first men's basketball gold medal after 61 years.

But will Gilas retain the two people who played a major role in that successful run?

Gilas named Tim Cone as the head coach on September 7, just 19 days before the nationals plunged into the Asiad action against Bahrain last August 26. And even the day before its first assignment, the lineup wasn't even finalized yet as they awaited the clearance of four other players.

Aside from Cone, Gilas also tapped the services of Alfrancis Chua, who served as the team manager.

Their return to national team duty, however, remains uncertain at this point with Chua saying he leaves the decision to the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP), especially that they both have their responsibilities as Barangay Ginebra coach and governor, respectively.

"Sa ngayon 'di ko muna iniisip 'yun eh. Ang SBP naman, marami silang tao. Heto nga, aksidente lang nangyari kasi kinausap ako ni chairman at tukayo ko (Al Panlilio) na hawakan niyo, hawakan natin," Chua said during a press conference on Monday at the PBA Office.

"Pero ngayon na plano? Sa ngayon wala pa kasi sila yon (SBP). Sabi ko nga, ako, si Comm Willie, si Vice Chair Bobby at Chairman Ricky, 'yung tinawag kaming apat para to handle this, napagbigyan namin, at talagang binigay namin 100-percent. Ngayon, yung mga susunod? 'Di ko alam."

("As of right now, I'm not thinking about it yet. The SBP has a lot of people. It was just an accident that happened, when the chairman and my namesake spoke to me that we should handle this together... But now, what's the plan? There isn't one yet because that's up to the SBP. I said, me, Comm Willie (Marcial), Vice Chair Bobby (Rosales), and Chairman Ricky (Vargas), the four of us were called to handle this, we accepted and we gave our 100-percent. Now, with the next ones? I don't know.")

Chua added that Cone would have a hard time juggling his task as Ginebra mentor while also leading the national team.

Gilas has two major tournaments lined up with the first one slated on February 19, 2024 for the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers where the Filipinos were grouped with New Zealand, Chinese Taipei, and Hong Kong.

They will then compete in the Paris Olympics Qualifying Tournament on July 2. All these might coincide with the schedule of the PBA, making it extra challenging for Cone and Chua to do their national team duties.

"Actually pinilit lang namin mag-coach 'yan eh. Kung magco-coach siya ng national team again, depende sa schedule (We really just forced him to coach. If he will coach the national team again, it'll depend on the schedule)," Chua added.

"You have to understand, the guy can't coach this and then coach in the PBA. That's the main point eh."

But while his return is up in the air, Chua offered his suggestion on how the SBP and Gilas Pilipinas can operate moving forward.

"Celebrations tapos na eh, nakuha na natin ginto. We have to plan it—kung ano man ang darating," Chua said.

"One, we have to check schedules. Schedule ng PBA, ano ba, ganito, kung kukuha ba ng PBA players, 'di aabot dahil hanggang Feb kami. Kukuha ba kayo sa UAAP o sa NCAA? 'Di biro yon. Kailangan planuhin yon."

("The celebrations are over, we got the gold. We have to plan it — whatever comes next... One , we have to check schedules, the schedule of the PBA, if we're getting PBA players, it might not work because we play until February. Will they get from the UAAP or the NCAA? That's not a joke. It needs to be planned out.")

—Bea Micaller/JMB, GMA Integrated News