MANILA (Philippines) - It's time to strike while the iron is hot. And rest assured, the iron is hot in the Philippines national team, whose coach Tim Cone is optimistic about what could unfold at the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Riga (July 2-7).
Cone, in an exclusive interview with SBP, anticipates two very tough games against OQT hosts Latvia on July 3 and Georgia on July 4.
Latvia are No. 6 in the FIBA World Ranking, Presented by Nike, and Georgia are No. 23 while the Philippines are No. 37.
Yet Cone, who took the helm of Gilas after the FIBA Basketball World Cup in Manila and led them to resounding wins over Hong Kong (94-64) and Chinese Taipei (106-53) in the February window of the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers, says no one should dismiss the Filipinos' chances.
"We're going to go to win," he said. "But it's not going to be our focus. Our focus is going to be what we're going to do every day to try to delve deeper into the way we want to play.
"Delve deeper into our chemistry. Let our young guys grow. Kai (Sotto), Carl (Tamayo), Kevin (Quiambao), Mason Amos, because he'll be with us as well... Are those guys getting better? AJ (Ariel John Edu) is in there."
Ultimately, however, for any coach, success and failure are defined by wins and losses.
"For us to think we have any success, we have to go out and beat Latvia or Georgia to really feel like we've had success," Cone said.
"And then we'll see where we go from there. If we can beat one of those two teams, that means we can compete in the crossover, so you never know from there.
"WE HAVE TO GO OUT AND BEAT LATVIA OR GEORGIA TO REALLY FEEL LIKE WE'VE HAD SUCCESS."
"For sure it's going to be tough, it always is tough for us, but I just don't think we've really brought a team like this to the OQT before. And I think this team may be ready."
The Philippines had a talented roster when they hosted an OQT in 2016, which was ultimately won by France, and they had an exciting young team at the Belgrade OQT in 2021 that nearly upset hosts Serbia. That Gilas team led 74-73 with less than four minutes remaining but was outscored 10-2 to close the game and lost, 83-76.
As Cone sees it, as do a lot of people in the know in the Philippines, there is the potential to achieve something now or in the near future.
"When I look at our team, we've got some generational talents," Cone said. "Kai is going to be a generational talent. How many times are we going to have a 7'2", 7'3", literally pure Filipino that is skilled and is going to be able to play at this level?
"You look at June Mar (Fajardo), another 6'10", 6'11" massive mountain of a man... a generational talent.
"These things are all coming together right now. And I think everybody recognizes that. People look around and say, 'this is a fun team that can do something.' I feel that excitement. They're (fans) really connecting in. "
Cone has been a head coach in the Philippines since 1989 and racked up numerous achievements, including 25 PBA championships.
He is relishing the chance to coach at the OQT.
"We've looked at the teams," he said. "They all are really, really good. They're big and they're athletic, but they're not impossible.
"It's going to be tough, but they're not impossible in my mind. We'll see. I'm really excited and the players are really excited about it. And we're chomping at the bit to get back on June 21."
That is the date, June 21, that Cone and the Gilas players will go to the Inspire Camp to start practicing for the OQT. They will then fly to Istanbul for more practices, and to take on Türkiye and Poland, before leaving for Riga.
"Our eyes are wide open," Cone said, adding that he knows that playing in Europe is going to be a lot different than playing Chinese Taipei and Hong Kong as they did in Window 1 of the Asia Cup Qualifiers.
"We know that. We know we're going to have to be better this time around."
Adjustments to the personnel on the floor are likely required.
"With the size of the teams that we're going to be playing," Cone said, "we're going to have to figure out a way, can Kai play with June Mar?
"Kai and AJ used to play before, together, so that, I don't think, is going to be a stretch. But can they play that way in the system which we bring?
"Our last starting lineup (against Chinese Taipei on February 25) was Kai, Dwight Ramos, Justin Brownlee, Calvin (Oftana) and Scottie (Thompson). That lineup may be too small to play so we're going to have to throw in an AJ (Edu), or a June Mar in there maybe to get those two big men in so we can match up."
Cone is very enthusiastic about Sotto.
"When I watch Kai practice and play, he is just absolutely dominant," he said. "There's so little he cannot do. He does lack a little bit of strength of fighting for position underneath the basket and I think that’s going to come with age. (But) He's only 21 years old. He hasn't even developed into his body yet.
"So really, I think, the sky is the limit. He played against big, strong guys in Australia. He plays against imports in Japan. So it's not a stretch for him to go out and play against the bigger European players. But I think in the competitive level we're going to be at, the pressure is going to be on him to perform because he is going to be one of the main guys, if not the main guy on our team. That's going to grow him, develop him.
"He's at an NBA camp now and will join us on June 17. The kid is working. He's doing his job. He's a perfect fit for our system, both offensively and defensively. I think he'll have a chance to really take off with us."
The 24-year-old Edu, who like Sotto played at last year's FIBA Basketball World Cup in Manila, has been carrying some knocks but Cone said: "AJ should be fine and ready to go on June 21. AJ is a key guy because he is our true big man stopper. He’ll be the one to guard (Kristaps) Porzingis, poor guy (smiles), or Gogo (Bitadze) from Georgia.
Cone is very eager for 23-year-olds Tamayo and Quiambao to take the next step in their development, too. Tamayo and Sotto were, in fact, in the Gilas team at the Belgrade OQT a few summers ago.
"There's really very little that Carl cannot do," Cone said. "He just needs to harness it all. He's young, needs to harness it, throw it all in one direction. And that's going to come with maturity. That's another reason why he's on this team. He could be our superstar by 2027, 28. He's just going to be coming into his prime, even before his prime.
"The same with Kevin. It's going to be really fun to explore his skills. I think he has skills that people haven't seen yet. They will both really improve on the defensive side."
As for Scottie Thompson and Chris Newsome being on the roster, Cone says it's because of their defense.
"I know you look at guys like Scottie Thompson or Chris Newsome, they're not the most prolific scorers in the league but they are great defenders," Cone said. "We wanted that point guard to be the point of our defense."
Defense is the area in which the Philippines need to be great to have a chance at the OQT.
"I'm a defensive coach," he said. "I'm known for my triangle (offense), but really I'm a defensive coach first and one of the reasons why I run the triangle is that it creates a tempo in which you can be defensive minded, or have a defensive tempo."
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