MANILA — Gilas Pilipinas cannot expect to excel on the international stage if it continues to compete without the country’s best available players, head coach Tim Cone warned following the national team’s early exit from the 2026 Asian Games.
Cone lamented that Gilas was unable to assemble its strongest possible roster for the continental tournament after several key players were not released by their respective mother teams, leaving the Philippines undersized against bigger opposition.
“Not sure what to say. Deeply disappointed we couldn’t get to the quarters,” Cone told Panay News. “But it’s a reminder for us that if we don’t or can’t bring our best players to these international events, we won’t excel.”
The Philippines bowed out of the men’s 5-on-5 basketball competition after finishing with a 1-2 record in Group C, ending its bid to defend the Asian Games gold medal it captured in 2023.
Cone said the national team could have been significantly stronger with Gilas regulars Kai Sotto, AJ Edu, Quentin Millora-Brown, Mike Philips, Dwight Ramos, Kevin Quiambao and Carl Tamayo in the lineup.
“It would have been nice to have Kai (Sotto) and AJ (Edu) and Q (Quentin Millora-Brown) and Mike Philips and Dwight (Ramos) and KQ (Kevin Quiambao) and Carl (Tamayo) and the like, but they weren’t permitted from their mother teams,” he said.
Cone added that veteran center June Mar Fajardo could also have strengthened the Philippines’ interior presence.
“Even JuneMar would have made an impact,” he added.
The absence of several frontcourt players proved costly as Gilas struggled to match the size of its opponents throughout the tournament.
Despite the disappointing campaign, Cone refused to pin the blame on the players who answered the call to represent the country, saying they competed with maximum effort despite the roster limitations.
“But, hey, the guys we had played their hearts out,” Cone said. “We were just oversized by the other teams.”
Cone stressed that the players who suited up for Gilas should not be faulted for the early elimination, pointing instead to the national team’s inability to reinforce the roster with additional size.
“They were a great group of guys who loved playing for their country,” he said. “It wasn’t their fault that we couldn’t add size to their roster to help them out. They gave their all.”/PN
