Gilas Pilipinas still has eyes on Asian Games gold amid adversity, says Tim Cone

Only six days left before Gilas Pilipinas opens its campaign in the 19th Asian Games, the Philippine national men's basketball team has yet to come up with its final 12-man lineup to the Asiad tilt owing to eligibility and clearance issues of some of the players.

Calvin Abueva and Jason Perkins, who were added to the pool as replacements for injured Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser and Jamie Malonzo, remain doubtful as the Asian Games organizing committee has yet to give the green light for the two PBA cagers.

In addition to Abueva and Perkins, the San Miguel duo of Terrence Romeo and Mo Tautuaa are also uncertain as the four players weren't part of a new 37-man pool submitted to the organizers — a list that will overrule the initial 60-man pool that originally had Romeo and Tautuaa in it.

In anticipation of the four players' potential absence, Gilas Pilipinas has decided to call up five other players in Chris Ross, Kevin Alas, CJ Perez, Arvin Tolentino, and Marcio Lassiter to come in as replacements.

But amidst the changes in the lineup, Gilas Pilipinas head coach Tim Cone remained optimistic of their gold medal chances, saying the team is laser-focused on their mission.

"I don't think that changes. I mean, like I always say, I compare it to the PBA when I start the conference in the PBA, you don't come out just wanting to win a game or two. You come out wanting to win a championship," Cone said on Tuesday.

"You're not gonna settle for a semifinals or a finals or quarters, you wanna win a championship. So we're still going out thinking about the bigger picture."

While the five slots are still up in the air, seven players are already sure to suit up for Gilas with Justin Brownlee, Ange Kouame, June Mar Fajardo, Scottie Thompson, Japeth Aguilar, Chris Newsome, and Calvin Oftana all participating in a training camp at the Inspire Sports Academy in Laguna.

Gilas Pilipinas, which is among the favorites to medal in the Asian Games, will take on Bahrain on September 26 before slugging it out against Thailand and Jordan on the 28th and 30th to close out the group stage.

"Our goal is to win a gold medal. Our focus is the gold medal," Cone added.

"Anything that's thrown at us isn't going to change the attitude that we have. We're gonna pursue the gold medal and the way we pursue it is worrying about today."

—JMB, GMA Integrated News