With players capable of exploding at any given time at his disposal, Gilas Pilipinas coach Tim Cone admits offense will not be a problem.
But with a star-studded team, Cone is looking that everybody in the team will be on the same page defensively when they start their campaign in the 30th SEA Games here.
“Offense is no problem with these guys,” said Cone after he conducted his first practice session with the all-PBA national team Monday night at the Meralco gym in Quezon City.
“My teaching is more about the defensive side,” added Cone.
Of the 15 players Cone named to the national team pool, 14 showed up as PBA’s reigning five-time MVP June Mar Fajardo of San Miguel Beer asked to be excused due to personal reasons.
The core of Cone’s Barangay Ginebra San Miguel composed of LA Tenorio, Greg Slaughter, Scottie Thompson, Japeth Aguilar, Stanley Pringle and Art dela Cruz were present during the first practice session.
TNT KaTropa’s Jayson Castro, RR Pogoy and Troy Rosario, San Miguel Beer’s Christian Standhardinger, Marcio Lassiter and Chris Ross, Alaska’s Vic Manuel and Matthew Wright of Phoenix Fuel were also present.
Lassiter and Standhardinger, however, did not practice due to injuries.
Cone’s practice session lasted less than two hours after a team meeting with players and the coaching staff.
He ran a couple of drills, although nothing from his ‘triangle offense’ that delivered two ‘Grand Slam’ titles, first with Alaska back in 1996 and another with San Miguel Coffee Mixers in 2014.
Cone doesn’t plan to use that famous offensive strategy created by American mentor Tex Winters, formerly of the Chicago Bulls of the Michael era and the Los Angeles Lakers of Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant.
Part of it, maybe.
“We’re using the triangle concept. We’re playing more of motion offense, that’s easier to teach and that’s easier to learn. But it’s still a read-react offense like the triangle,” said Cone.
“So were going to use the concept of the triangle, but we’re going to simplify it a little bit more. We’ll see how far we’re going to be. With these guys, offense is not a problem,” he added.
The country will host the Southeast Games for the fourth time in history, and first since the 2005 meet where the Philippines won the overall title. The SEA Games this year is set Nov. to Dec 11.
