Cone underscores seriousness of Gilas duel vs Guam
Gilas Pilipinas may be favored to run roughshod over Guam in their two-game series to start the Fiba World Cup Asian Qualifiers on Friday, but coach Tim Cone isn’t taking any chances.
“If we don’t win this window, then we don’t make the World Cup,” coach Tim Cone said as Gilas seeks to complete the first part of the task on Friday at Guam’s Calvo Fieldhouse.
Tipoff is at 5 p.m. Philippine time, with Gilas set to face off against Jericho Cruz, the swagger-filled San Miguel Beer forward who will lead Guam into battle against some of his PBA buddies, including teammates June Mar Fajardo and CJ Perez.
But Cone, obviously, is not looking at Cruz as Guam’s only threat for the away affair.
“They got [Tai] Wesley, who has tremendous footwork at the post,” said Cone. “You got [Jonathan] Galloway, who jumps out of the gym and is super athletic. And then you have Gabriel Simon, who is a lights-out three-point shooter.
“They’re not going to be a deep team where they’re going to play all 12 guys, unlike us, where we have depth one through 12,” he added.
Cone is also bracing for the challenge of playing on Guam’s turf, which could work against Gilas despite its advantage in manpower.
Nonetheless, Gilas will remain the favorites to come away with a win in the contest that will see the debut of new addition Quentin Millora-Brown.
Millora-Brown, Cone said, has adapted well to the Triangle Offense, but how he performs is likely to be scrutinized by fans back home, given the expectations surrounding his promising talent and his potential contributions to the national side.
On the other hand, the game will have a special meaning for Cruz, who is representing Guam by way of having grown up on the tiny island before returning home for college.
Cruz has not set any lofty goals or declarations of an upset, other than expressing his intent to just “enjoy the moment of facing Gilas.”
For Gilas, however, there’s no reason to play below par.
“We’ve got to come with our best foot forward,” Cone said. “We can’t take anything for granted with them being at home in front of their home crowd.”
