TIM Cone said the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas should first decide on the road map for the national team program before choosing the man to handle it.
Will the SBP tap the best players in the country during the FIBA windows for 2024 or create a pool similar to the Smart Gilas program? Cone would like to know.
The multi-titled Ginebra coach believes a full-time coach will only be necessary if a national pool is in place and will be trained for a lengthy period. He pointed out that there will only be a couple of windows in 2024, unlike last year.
Cone says a full-time coach might not be required
But if the SBP only wants to tap PBA and international-based players for the tournaments this year, a full-time coach might not be required.
“In my opinion, and again, I don’t want to speak for the SBP, if you are going to use PBA players or Japan players on your team, then you can’t have a full-time job doing Gilas. It’s just not enough work. It’s only three windows,” said Cone, referring to the Fiba Asia Cup 2025 qualifiers that will be played in February and November, and the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in July.
“It’s just not enough work. It’s only three windows. Basically, this year, you are talking about a maximum of eight games but most likely, you are talking about maybe five to six games this year. You can’t pull out all the PBA players and practice them all here for a month or two before each window. There’s really not a lot of work for a head coach, in my opinion.”
“But if you have another program where you get college players, put the team together, and practice every day, that’s another program,” said Cone.
“It really depends I think on how the SBP would decide to handle it,” said Cone.
Addressing rumors about the Gilas coaching situation, Cone admitted he was approached by SBP officials for the position but nothing has been mentioned on whether there has been an decision, much less an appointment.
Cone says he's committed to Ginebra
Cone reiterated that he is fully committed to his mother ballclub Barangay Ginebra, his sentiment even when he was appointed on an interim basis when Gilas Pilipinas won the gold in the Asian Games.
He expressed that the coach of Gilas is just one component in a multi-faceted endeavor involving the development of a comprehensive national team program.
“My opinion is, you need the best players in the country to represent you and you have to figure out a way to get the stakeholders to allow you to get the best players in the country, including the PBA, Japan, Korea, and allow them to give you the time to work with these guys. You have to figure out a program that would allow you to do that. It’s not that simple. It’s not a simple way,” said Cone.
“The other way is to get a bunch of young players, like what we’ve done in the past, try to groom them, practice them everyday, send them out for practice games, and let them grow for a number of years.
"But two things in my mind, you are not sending your best players and can you keep the young guys together for a long time? We’ve proven over and over again that the young guys want to grow and do other things. It’s going to be hard to keep a team for four, five years,” Cone added.
“Decide on how you want to do it. If anybody else have other ideas, I’m sure the SBP is willing to talk about it,” said Cone.
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