By REYNALD MAGALLON
Gilas Pilipinas head coach Tim Cone stressed the importance of laying out the foundation especially now that the four-year plan to bring the country back into the World Cup has finally been set into motion with the onset of the FIBA Asia Cup qualifying windows this February.
The multi-title mentor said that everything that has been done so far, and probably even in the next few months, will still be part of the groundwork needed to establish the continuity and the chemistry that he wants for Gilas.
The Nationals had already spent the last four days in a training camp in Inspire Academy in Laguna in preparation for the first window of the Asia Cup qualifiers where they will be facing up against Hong Kong on Thursday, Feb. 22 and against Chinese Taipei on Sunday, Feb. 25
“It’s really about laying the foundation from which we can build from this first window. We hope (this window) to be the foundation,” said Cone in Gilas’ send-off presser at the PhilSports Arena on Monday, Feb. 19.
“Everything is the foundation. We keep telling the guys that we’re not gonna make shortcuts, we’re not gonna jump off. We’re just gonna build consistently forward,” added the veteran mentor.
As Cone had already emphasized in previous interviews, the program is geared towards using the windows as stepping stones to develop a team that would be formidable enough to qualify in the 2027 World Cup in Qatar.
While Gilas is dead set on winning every game, the veteran tactician is putting more premium on a ‘growth oriented’ program where the team could get better every after windows.
“It’s important that we win, but it’s more important that we build a foundation which we could bring to the next window,” said Cone.
“We’re thinking about the goals but it’s more important for us to be growth oriented. We got to stay in the process,” he added.
Gilas made its last practice also at the PhilSports Arena with all of the 12 players named in his lineup present. AJ Edu and June Mar Fajardo won’t be playing in the first window due to respective injuries but are expected to be with the team when they fly to Hong Kong on Tuesday, Feb. 20.
