Injury woes surround Gilas Pilipinas, but Cone hopes to elevate play in upcoming FIBA window

At least two Gilas Pilipinas players sustained injuries just before the November window of the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers.

KaI Sotto is under concussion protocol, while AJ Edu absorbed a knee injury in their respective stints in the Japan B.League.

"We've been in touch with the medical team of Kai's team in Japan and he has been put under the concussion protocol of the B-League and we are following that. He's in the process of completing the concussion protocol but from all indications, he will be available come game time upon completion of those protocols," Gilas Pilipinas team manager Richard del Rosario said in a press conference on Wednesday.

"AJ suffered an injury in his last game in Japan so right now we are in communication also with the medical team of AJ in the B-League and he needs to undergo strengthening with his knee," Del Rosario added.

"As you all know AJ has a long history of injuries and once he arrives... then we will make our assessment with our own trainers and medical staff and see from there if -- it depends on his recovery -- if he will be available for the window."

Aside from the two players, Jamie Malonzo has also yet to return to play after sustaining a calf injury last April.

Despite injuries bugging the squad, the said players are still included in the Gilas Pilipinas pool as head coach Tim Cone hopes to elevate the national team's play in every window of the tournament.

"We keep talking about the continuity of the program and the preparation that we have is cumulative. In other words, we've prepared with the first window we had at the beginning of the year, we've also prepared with the OQT (Olympic Qualifying Tournament), that's been part of our preparation," Cone said. 

"The key that we want is to try to elevate our game every time we come into a new window. We want to be better from the first window to the second, from the second to the third and then the third going into next year. We want to continually elevate as we become more familiar with each other, we have more practice time with each other, we have more video work with each other and we have more game experience with each other so that's why the 15, 14-man pool has stayed constant as much as possible because it is a short preparation time so it's a cumulative one and that's why it's important that we keep the group," the Gilas coach added.

Also included in the pool are Japeth Aguilar, Justin Brownlee, June Mar Fajardo, Ange Kouame, Chris Newsome, Calvin Oftana, CJ Perez, Dwight Ramos, Carl Tamayo, and Scottie Thompson.

Collegiate standouts Kevin Quiambao and Mason Amos are also part of the pool. 

The nationals will start their training camp on Friday in Laguna.

Gilas will play New Zealand on November 21 and Hong Kong on November 24. The Philippines currently has a 2-0 record in Group B of the qualifiers.

—JKC, GMA Integrated News