"This is the present and future of Philippine basketball."
Gilas Pilipinas coaches Tim Cone and LA Tenorio are feeling pretty upbeat about the young players of the Philippine national basketball team ahead of the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers.
Cone didn't have the complete Gilas 12 on Day 1 last Thursday, with June Mar Fajardo and CJ Perez still celebrating the San Miguel Beermen's 29th PBA title.
They weren't 100% either, with Cone mentioning Scottie Thompson and Jamie Malonzo. But having other Barangay Ginebra San Miguel players like Japeth Aguilar, Donald Gumaru, Ralph Cu, and LA Tenorio were a godsend in helping the Gilas players learn Cone's system.
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"The real story is, these guys are really fun to be around, very responsie. They don't miss shots," Cone told Cignal TV, chuckling.
"Just amazing to be around, especially the young guys. Kai, who's doing tremendously well. Kevin and Carl, even Dwight. All young guys, and Calvin. These guys are doing really well, even better than we expected."
Japan B.League imports Kai Sotto, Carl Tamayo, AJ Edu, and Dwight Ramos have answered the call for Gilas Pilipinas once again, along with UAAP Season 86 MVP Kevin Quiambao.
They have become the young core for Gilas Pilipinas, bolstered by PBA players Calvin Oftana, Scottie Thompson, Chris Newsome, Jamie Malonzo, CJ Perez, and Scottie Thompson.
And there's Justin Brownlee of course.
For LA Tenorio, taking part in a scrimmage with these young guns sure brings back the memories.
"Feels like I'm young again," he said in a separate interview with Cignal TV.
"I think this is the future of Philippine basketball, the present and the future of Philippine basketball," the Gilas assistant coach shared.
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The Philippines will need to finish as part of the top two teams in Group B to earn a direct berth to the FIBA Asia Cup in 2025.
And that means taking care of business early in the first window against Hong Kong on February 22 and against Chinese Taipei on February 25.
"We're not gonna rush, we're not gonna shortcut. We're gonna take our time and do it the right way," Cone cautioned.
"We have that big picture, that four-year thing in mind so we're keeping that firmly in front of us."
"We're here to build something. That's what we want to do, we want to build."
[ALSO READ: FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers: Gilas Pilipinas viewing guide]
These will air on One Sports, One Sports+, RPTV, and the Pilipinas Live app.