Barangay Ginebra San Miguel and Gilas Pilipinas coach Tim Cone knows a thing or two about adversity leading into an international tournament. His gold medal–winning squad in the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, is Exhibit A. That team encountered all sorts of challenges, from players being barred from playing to a lack of preparation time. Even so, that Gilas squad rose to the occasion and won a most improbable Asiad gold.
Cone, who admits to feeling guilty that he isn’t coaching Gilas in the Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) in Thailand, is seeing parallels between his Asiad Gilas squad and Norman Black’s team, which starts its SEA Games campaign on Sunday against Malaysia.
“I wish Norman well, and I hope he does really well there. I feel real guilty that I’m not coaching it because I am the Gilas coach, but I’m also happy to hand it off and give him this opportunity,” Cone said when asked about the SEA Games after Ginebra’s win over Blackwater on Wednesday. “It’s gonna be a tough road for them because it’s like us in the Asian Games. We couldn’t get the players that we wanted, and it was really magulo all the way to the last two or three days before we left.”
Adversity Paved Way for Golden Finish
But for Cone, all that adversity only added fuel to his and his players’ fire, and it ultimately drove them all the way to the mountaintop. The PBA’s winningest coach thinks the same might happen to Black and his team, who have dealt with pretty much the same challenges as Cone and his squad dealt with before—notably, players being declared ineligible and a lack of preparation time.
“That [adversity] just motivated us and got us playing, and we felt we were underdogs. So, we had that underdog mentality, and that took us all the way to the gold medal. And I think there’s a really good chance it could happen with Norman and his group,” Cone added.
Curiously, Gilas was dealt another blow when the bus tasked with fetching them from the airport in Thailand to their team hotel broke down due to engine trouble, leaving the team stranded for over 30 minutes.
Cone Anticipates ‘Fun and Exciting’ Style
If there’s one thing that concerns Cone about Black’s Gilas, it’s the lack of size, especially with Ange Kouame excluded from the lineup. That means Justin Chua and Poy Erram (approved at the last minute by the Thai organizers), who are both 6-foot-8, are the team’s biggest bodies. That, Cone believes, might leave Black with no choice but to go fast-paced, more so as he has athletic wings like Ray Parks Jr., Thirdy Ravena, and Jamie Malonzo.
“There are always expectations for the Southeast Asian Games because it’s something we have dominated, but we’ve also always brought strong teams. I think the only thing they lack is size, so it’ll be interesting to see how Norman plays with this group,” Cone noted. “I think it’s gonna be fun and exciting; it’s gonna be spread out. They’re gonna go up and down the floor. It’s gonna be interesting to watch the Southeast Asian Games with this group.”
After Malaysia on Sunday, Gilas next takes on Vietnam on Monday. The top finishers in Groups A and B will be seeded directly into the semis, with the next two finishers playing in knockout crossover quarterfinals. Gilas Pilipinas comprises Group A along with Vietnam and Malaysia, while Group B is composed of Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, and Myanmar.
