Gilas' Cone not losing hope on inclusion of Abueva, 3 others for Asian Games

Gilas Pilipinas head coach Tim Cone isn't giving up on the inclusion of four players in their upcoming campaign in the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.

The seasoned tactician said that Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) continues to fight for the eligibility of Calvin Abueva, Terrence Romeo, Mo Tautuaa, and Jason Perkins, who have not been cleared to play by the organizers.

"Obviously, the four were here except for Calvin. The other three came here and we really appreciate it. I thought that was really cool to have them here," Cone said in the post-game interview.

"Is there no hope for them? They're breathing. That's about all we can say. They're still alive."

However, Cone stressed that they do have a 12-man lineup now with Chris Ross, Kevin Alas, Arvin Tolentino, and CJ Perez as well as Marcio Lassiter, who came in to replace RR Pogoy, completing the roster alongside Justin Brownlee, Ange Kouame, June Mar Fajardo, Scottie Thompson, Chris Newsome, Arvin Tolentino, and Calvin Oftana.

The five late replacements were fielded during Gilas Pilipinas' friendly game against the LG Sakers on Friday night at the PhilSports Arena.

Cone shared they will have a more concrete plan on Sunday, when they leave for China ahead of their first Asian Games assignment on the 26th against Bahrain.

"We're still working on it and we'll have a definitive time by the 24th but by and large, we got our 12 right now," he said.

Cone admitted they are still ironing out the kinks, but the Barangay Ginebra tactician lauded the five players who came in just days ago and helped them hold off a gritty South Korean club en route to an 86-81 victory.

In the end, it was still Brownlee who led the nationals as the naturalized cager poured in 19 points, five rebounds, three assists, one steal, and one block.

"Honestly, we played better than I thought we would. But that's a little scary because again, you don't judge it by one game. The players got a little belief in each other and maybe we could do something," Cone said.

"We have a great closer in Justin. He's like our 'kodigo'. We can always rely on him. It's a poker term. So anyway, we can always go to him. We know we could get to him."

—JMB, GMA Integrated News