TIM Cone was quick to shield Gilas Pilipinas players from being blamed for the country’s horror title defense that ended before the 20th Asian Games men’s basketball competitions could enter its knockout rounds.
Cone said it wasn’t the players’ fault that the national team’s campaign came to an abrupt and embarrassing end on Monday following its 105-61 blowout loss to payback-seeking China at the Aichi International Arena.
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“Not sure what to say, but deeply disappointed we couldn’t get to the quarters,” said Cone following the 44-point rout that denied the Philippines the chance to retain its gold medal in the quadrennial showcase.
But before finger-pointing begins, the Gilas coach said the players should be spared from all the bashing.
“It wasn’t their fault that we couldn’t add size to the roster to help them out. They gave their all,” said Cone.
The Gilas mentor lauded the players for answering the call to play for flag and country despite being given short notices and began practicing as a unit just three weeks before the start of their campaign.
“They were a group of guys who loved playing for their country,” he said of the 12-man roster, which had Calvin Oftana as the lone holdover from the Gilas team that ended the country’ 61-year gold medal drought in Hangzhou, China in 2022.
“The guys we had played their hearts out. We were just oversized by the other teams.”
Oftana was a last-minute inclusion to replace injured naturalized player Justin Brownlee, who also missed out on the team’s stint in the fourth window of FIBA World Cup qualifiers.
Also not spared from injuries, the 30-year-old Oftana didn’t join the team until two days before the start of competitions, and yet proved to be a huge contributor to the Gilas cause after both leading the team in scoring in the two losses to Bahrain and China.
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