No rest for coach Tim Cone after the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Latvia. He then went to the PBA Draft Combine to scout the aspirants.
A day after arriving from Latvia, Ginebra coach Tim Cone didn’t waste time and went to the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City to catch a glimpse of the hopefuls in the PBA Draft Combine.
[RELATED STORY: FIBA OQT: Takeaways from Gilas Pilipinas' loss to Brazil in the semifinals]
Fresh from steering Gilas Pilipinas to a semifinal appearance in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament, Cone marvelled at the talents in the 70-man draft which includes Justine Baltazar, Kai Ballungay, RJ Abarrientos, and Sedrick Barefield.
“The draft is going to be very strong. There’s gonna be 12 players in that draft that could really impact the league,” said Cone.
“So, we were just talking about it, with Coach Olsen (Racela), about how this draft looks so much stronger than last year’s draft, and watching the players play, we’ve got some good depth.”
Cone made special mention of Baltazar and Ballungay, projected top picks who turned heads in the two-day Combine from July 10 to 11.
When the media spoke to Cone on Thursday, he was still mulling on who would be viable for Ginebra as the 10th pick in the first round.
“So, the problem is, you end up looking at—you’re watching these games, You’re watching Justine Baltazar, you’re watching [Kai] Ballungay, you’re watching these guys play, they draw your attention, they draw your eyes—we’re not gonna get any of them, so, we have to have a discipline there,” he said.
With Jamie Malonzo (calf) and Scottie Thompson (back) still nursing injuries, Ginebra is hopeful it could nab a big man or a point guard in the July 14 proceedings at the Glorietta Mall in Makati City.
“We’re looking for a big guy, but it doesn’t look like that. If there’s anyone available, in terms of just a big man, I’ll side with Justine. So, now, we’ll just turn our attention to just an available athlete, who will fill out the position,” the veteran mentor, who led Gilas to an Asian Games gold in 2023, said.
“But we’re not gonna look it—whether it’s big or small. If there’s a good point guard available in #10, we’ll go after him. So we just got to wait to see who drops to us. But it’s a good draft, I think a lot of teams will be happy about their picks.”
That has changed on Saturday morning though, as the PBA approved a swap which would see Ginebra taking Terrafirma Dyip's number three first round pick.
The trade also includes exchanging Ginebra's Christian Standhardinger and Stanley Pringle for Terrafirma's Stephen Holt and Isaac Go.
[ALSO READ: Blockbuster trade: Ginebra gets Stephen Holt, Isaac Go from Terrafirma for Christian Standhardinger, Stanley Pringle]
Now that changes things drastically for Tim Cone.