Tim Cone says Gilas will stick with 11 players for OQT despite Scottie Thompson's absence

Gilas Pilipinas head coach Tim Cone isn't feeling the need to fill the spot of injured Scottie Thompson, stressing they are ready to march to the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament next month with just an 11-man roster.

"I don’t feel we’re shorthanded at all," Cone said on the heels of their 74-64 win against the Taiwan Mustangs in a friendly on Monday.

"I’m not a guy who plays 11 or 12 guys anyway. You know me, I don’t play that many guys. I’m really an eight or nine-man rotation."

Cone, though, admitted he misses the services of his trusted guard, who has been under his wing in the international and professional levels and whom he won multiple titles with for Barangay Ginebra.

"However, I do really, really miss Scottie. You all know how much I rely on Scottie. He’s such an infectious player. He infects the guys around him," Cone said of the one-time PBA MVP Thompson.

But the decorated tactician is confident his other wards will step up and fill the void of Thompson.

With Thompson out, Cone is looking at Dwight Ramos, as well as Chris Newsome and CJ Perez, to orchestrate their offense while also contributing on the scoring department.

"We’re looking at Dwight to help us out in the back court because he played the wing for us when we had Scottie. He gives us size and he’s still capable of scoring from that position," Cone added.

"We don’t play pure point guard system. So we feel Dwight is capable, New is obviously capable, and I’m really pleasantly surprised with CJ."

—JMB, GMA Integrated News