Gilas Pilipinas look to start on the right foot as the first window of the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers officially start Thursday.
Coach Tim Cone has taken on the daunting task of leading Gilas Pilipinas to the Olympics, be it in Paris this year or in Los Angeles years from now.
[RELATED STORY: Paris? LA? Gilas Pilipinas' road to Olympics begins in FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers]
That’s why Cone set a four-year roadmap and handpicked the 12 players he intends to keep for the whole journey, including Justin Brownlee, June Mar Fajardo, Kai Sotto, and Dwight Ramos.
Ramos is all in on the program.
“I like it, it’s a good idea, keeping the same players kind of lets you build chemistry and keep building without too many changes,” Ramos told One Sports.
[RELATED STORY: Dwight Ramos excited for Gilas Pilipinas build-up under Tim Cone]
While the Olympics is the goal, the widely-regarded GOAT of Philippine basketball coaches refused to look that far for now.
To paraphrase Lao Tzu, Cone and Gilas’ journey begins with a single step, and that is the first window of the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers.
Gilas takes on Hong Kong at 8 p.m. this Thursday at the Tsuen Wan Sports Centre. When they fly back to Manila, the Filipino dribblers will host Chinese Taipei at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City.
The Filipino ballers, especially the ones playing in the PBA, will face a familiar foe in Duncan Reid, who reinforced Bay Area Dragons in the PBA Commissioner's Cup last season.
Cone expressed that this window is just as important as any other windows in their journey to their desired destination.
“This window here is part of the process that’s gonna take us forward,” said Cone during the press conference on the eve of their flight to Hong Kong. “Right now we’re just trying to build the foundation.”
Cone and Gilas, though, will have to do it without June Mar Fajardo and AJ Edu.
While they went to Hong Kong with the team, Fajardo and Edu were ruled out for the first window due to a calf and meniscus injury, respectively.
[RELATED STORY: June Mar Fajardo asked to rest for two weeks due to calf injury]
Japeth Aguilar was tapped to fill that gaping hole, while Japan B.League boys Kai Sotto and Carl Tamayo are expected to step it up in the shaded area.
[RELATED STORY: Kai Sotto ready for bigger role as Gilas gears up for first window of FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers]
In the same press conference, Cone made it clear this team is gonna experience some bumps along the way. But, as with any great team, that is part of the grand design.
“It’s not an all-star team. This is a team we’re gonna keep together. It’s gonna have some issues. We’re not gonna win every game, we’re gonna lose a few games along the way,” he said.
The Hong Kong vs Philippines game will air at 8 p.m. on One Sports, One Sports+, and the Pilipinas Live app.