Gilas Pilipinas will be where the strong gather, at least that's the plan for coach Tim.
With Tim Cone now officially the new Gilas Pilipinas coach, his first order of business was to build the team.
And accompanying coach Tim’s official announcement are the 12 players that make up his new squad in Scottie Thompson, Calvin Oftana, June Mar Fajardo, Dwight Ramos, Chris Newsome, CJ Perez, Jamie Malonzo, AJ Edu, Carl Tamayo, Kai Sotto, Kevin Quiambao, and Justin Brownlee.
The lineup might look a little bit shaky, especially for the first FIBA window of the year in February due to injuries and suspension, but coach Tim naming a concise 12-man team is by design.
“We're trying to think of this program as a four-year program,” Cone told One News’ The Big Story.
“We want this team to be like a team in that like a pro or PBA team or even a college team where you keep it together and you let it grow through its successes and failures, you hope that you improve as you go along,” he added.
In building his Gilas team, Cone is trying to look ahead and build his program with the big picture in mind.
But one thing is essentially non-negotiable, the winningest coach in Philippine basketball wants the best players on the national team.
“We feel if we get 12 of the best players in the country together and form a team that over time they have a chance to reach their best potential, and if they reach their best potential, there's no doubt that is going to be the best team that we can show to the world,” he said.
“That's really the program, we're not really concerned about each and every window. We're looking at cumulatively and how we can improve at through each one,” Cone added.