Barangay Ginebra coach Tim Cone during the PBA Philippine Cup semifinals game gainst San Miguel Beermen. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
Since being at the helm as coach of Gilas Pilipinas, Tim Cone has been adamant about maintaining a small number of players in the national team pool.
That won’t be the case in the preparation for the Fiba Asia Cup after Cone revealed a “long list” that included new additions in RJ Abarrientos and Troy Rosario from his Barangay Ginebra squad, Magnolia’s Zavier Lucero and former Korean Basketball League import Rhenz Abando.
“They’re part of the long list that we have … just in case something happens,” Cone said after the buildup for next month’s Asian tilt in Saudi Arabia began Monday at Upper Deck Sports Center in Ortigas.
Abarrientos, Rosario and Abando are no strangers to representing flag and country in major Fiba competitions while Lucero’s inclusion may have stemmed from his impressive showing for Magnolia in the recent PBA Philippine Cup campaign.
The Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas, however, is checking as to whether Lucero can be eligible to play as a local player. Cone said that the versatile Filipino American forward out of University of the Philippines has already turned in documents.
Brownlee arriving
Lucero didn’t attend Gilas’ first gathering for its Asia Cup prep as he’s currently in the United States for some rest and relaxation while Abando is focused on his stint with Strong Group Athletics in the upcoming William Jones Cup in Taiwan.
Both Abarrientos and Rosario were on hand, along with Ginebra teammates Scottie Thompson, Jamie Malonzo and Japeth Aguilar, San Miguel Beer’s CJ Perez, TNT’s Calvin Oftana, Meralco’s Chris Newsome, plus Dwight Ramos and Carl Tamayo.
June Mar Fajardo was excused while Justin Brownlee and AJ Edu are due to arrive this week. Kai Sotto has been ruled out due to his ACL injury while Kevin Quiambao is in the midst of a much-publicized US training.
Cone, though, stressed that adding the four players is not an indication that the pool will be expanded beyond the Asia Cup, namely the World Cup Qualifiers, saying that it was done out of fulfilling Fiba requirements.
“They required us to have a long list for the Asia Cup,” said Cone. “But again, for us, it’s about system and familiarity, and that’s where we’re trying to bank our success on.” INQ
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