GILAS Pilipinas coach Tim Cone apologized to the amateur standouts and some of the young PBA players who were not made part of the 15-man pool he formed for the Gilas Pilipinas campaign in the 30th Southeast Asian Games.
The veteran coach explained that lack of time forced him to go with the core of the Barangay Ginebra team making up the pool, which will be reinforced by a sprinkling of Gilas Pilipinas mainstays from other ballclubs.
“We didn’t add the young PBA players or amateurs because of the short window we have to prepare. We just don’t have the practice time for tryouts,” said Cone of his decision when he bared the members of his all-PBA training pool on Thursday.
The Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) initially listed eight amateur stars as part of the 24-man pool drawn up for the biennial showpiece which the country is hosting from Nov. 30 to Dec. 11.
The eight amateur players in the pool were Kai Sotto, Kobe Paras, Ricci Rivero, Isaac Go, Justine Baltazar, Juan Gomez de Liano, Dave Ildefonso, and Thirdy Ravena.
Christian Standhardinger and Stanley Pringle were also on the list as Gilas’ naturalized players.
But with the SEA Games fast approaching and Cone barely warming his seat as new Gilas Pilipinas coach, he didn't have the luxury of time.
“After the SEA Games, the SBP will come out with a new player pool that will address the long term,” added Cone.
“Our apologies to the young guns CJ Perez, Robert Bolick, Terrence Romeo, Bobby Ray Parks,” he said. “Needless to say, your time is coming very soon.”
Bolick and Perez, who are both coming off impressive stints with the national team in the recent FIBA World Cup, however, were named as part of the 12-man pool for the 3x3 men’s basketball campaign together with Romeo.
“For the amateurs, we didn’t want to disrupt the ongoing UAAP and NCAA seasons at this time,” Cone said.
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