Cone eyes strong all-PBA Gilas squad for Asian Games gold defense

Gilas Pilipinas head coach Tim Cone is looking to assemble a competitive all-PBA squad as the Philippines aims to defend its gold medal in basketball at the upcoming Asian Games.

After the upcoming window of the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers, Cone will shift his focus to the Asian Games, with the national team’s two pools looking to practice separately.

“The plan is for me to handle the window until we get it done and then to transfer to the Asiad team,” Cone said, adding that his deputies will primarily handle the Asian Games team.

The decision to put together an all-PBA team stems from the unavailability of players based in Japan and South Korea.

“So, we just decided that we would pretty much bring an all-PBA contingent for the Asian Games along with Justin [Brownlee],” Cone said.

“We were hoping that Bennie [Boatwright] would be alright to play in the Asian Games, but that looks very doubtful at this point. We’re still holding out hope. But aside from that, it’s gonna be Justin and an all-PBA team.”

The Philippines is grouped with China, Kazakhstan, and Bahrain in the Asian Games.

“We think we can put a pretty good team together, so we’re hoping to go with that one,” Cone said.

Asian Games basketball is set to begin on September 11.

—GMA News