Tim Cone insisted throughout 2025 that keeping a lean pool was the way to go for Gilas Pilipinas after enduring one Fiba competition after another.
“There’s only 12 guys,” Cone had said. “We don’t want to increase it to a huge pool because it’s too unwieldy for the time of preparation that we have.”
On the other hand, Norman Black had difficulty just forming a roster of his own after answering the call to handle the squad in the Southeast Asian Games.
“I formed a team, only to be told I couldn’t use that team,” Black said. “And then when I formed another team, I was told I couldn’t use certain players.”
Both experiences highlighted another eventful year for what is undoubtedly the country’s most scrutinized national team.
Cone kept a pool of about 14 to 16 during one of the challenging periods of his tenure, highlighted by Gilas having to scrap its way through the quarterfinals of the Fiba Asia Cup in Saudi Arabia, where it was eventually shown the door by tournament champion Australia.
Losses on the road
Sandwiched between the Asia Cup were road losses to Chinese Taipei and New Zealand in the final window of the Asia Cup Qualifiers and the first window of the World Cup Qualifiers which saw Gilas manhandle Guam twice.
Kai Sotto was sorely missed due to his ACL injury, a predicament that Cone kept harping on, but made a significant addition in Quentin Millora-Brown, who won his appeal to overturn Fiba’s decision to rule him as a naturalized player.
Nonetheless, Cone leaned on the usual suspects, from PBA stars June Mar Fajardo, Scottie Thompson, CJ Perez and Chris Newsome, naturalized player and his long-trusted Barangay Ginebra import Justin Brownlee and overseas-based standout Dwight Ramos, AJ Edu, Carl Tamayo and Kevin Quiambao.
On the other hand, Norman Black had difficulty just forming a roster of his own after answering the call to handle the squad in the Southeast Asian Games.
“I formed a team, only to be told I couldn’t use that team,” Black said. “And then when I formed another team, I was told I couldn’t use certain players.”
Both experiences highlighted another eventful year for what is undoubtedly the country’s most scrutinized national team.
Cone kept a pool of about 14 to 16 during one of the challenging periods of his tenure, highlighted by Gilas having to scrap its way through the quarterfinals of the Fiba Asia Cup in Saudi Arabia, where it was eventually shown the door by tournament champion Australia.
His insistence on being compact has not come without criticism from fans, who felt that a wider pool could be beneficial. Cone did add, apart from Millora-Brown, a few names in RJ Abarrientos and Juan Gomez de Liaño, who was invited during the World Cup Qualifiers.
“We came in with a program and we’re going to stick to that program as much as we can,” said Cone. “We’re not going to be too hard-headed about it.
“Though I guess that’s the way I’m being described at this point,” he added.
Cone did skip handling Gilas for the SEA Games, which Black accepted due to his “willingness to take on the challenge.”
And was it a challenge.
Powerhouse first roster
Black’s initial roster that had the likes of Brownlee and another naturalized player in Ange Kouame was thumbed down by host Thailand after ruling that those with similar status can’t suit up in the standard 5-on-5 event.
Thailand also barred those players who failed to secure a passport before the age of 16, meaning that the Games would have strictly locals. That left Black with last-minute decisions to tap five PBA players headlined by Robert Bolick, Poy Erram and Dalph Panopio, plus free agent Jamie Malonzo and Adamson center Cedrick Manzano.
Ray Parks Jr., Matthew Wright and Thirdy Ravena were a few holdovers on Black’s original composition for the regional meet, which saw Gilas win all four games via comebacks, first in the group stage at the expense of Malaysia and Vietnam.
Gilas hurdled Indonesia in the semis before weathering a hostile environment, a home crowd and perceived one-sided officiating to edge out Thailand. The 70-64 win was led by Malonzo and Bolick, whose “night night” gesture before the buzzer was the signature moment of Gilas’ run.
“It was a tough road, there’s no question about that. But it turned out for the better,” Black told the Inquirer. “I think some of the things that we experienced together brought us together and made us all focus on the same goal, which is to win the gold medal.”
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