Cone says he鈥檚 still Gilas interim head coach until SBP names replacement
AFTER steering Gilas Pilipinas to Asian Games glory in Hangzhou, China, Tim Cone has strengthened his status as a popular choice among hoops-crazy Filipinos for the coaching position moving forward.
While he couldn鈥檛 readily say yay or nay right now, the four-time PBA Press Corps Virgilio 鈥淏aby鈥 Dalupan Coach of the Year awardee said he鈥檚 open to assuming the job permanently.
But that is, if the pieces fit.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a very complex question. It doesn鈥檛 deserve a simple yes or no,鈥 said Mr. Cone, who took on the role of Gilas interim mentor after his boss Chot Reyes stepped aside at the end of their FIBA World Cup campaign.
He stressed 鈥渢here鈥檚 a lot of things that need to happen in terms of the planning, coming together of the PBA, SBP and other stakeholders鈥 before he could answer the million-dollar question on a lot of aficionados鈥 minds.
鈥淔or me to answer that question without knowing all that stuff is not fair to the program itself,鈥 he said.
鈥淎m I open to it? Certainly, I鈥檓 open to it. I鈥檓 always open to the challenges of doing something that spectacular but again, the forces have to be right to be able to jump into the storm.
鈥淲e just can鈥檛 say up top 鈥榮ure I鈥檒l do it. We really have to study, bring everybody together and figure out where the direction is going to go. And I think that鈥檚 really the key. We have to figure out the direction, vision and once we do that, then we can decide who should lead it.鈥
Gilas will hit the court next in the first window of the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers slated in February. Unless the The Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) names another coach by then, Mr. Cone will likely still be in charge.
鈥淭here鈥檚 no word on who鈥檚 going to coach or what they鈥檙e going to do. I haven鈥檛 been formally asked or advised yet and I don鈥檛 know if I will. But if I am, those discussions are still up in the air. But as of now, I guess I鈥檓 still the interim coach until they hire somebody else,鈥 said Mr. Cone. 鈥 Olmin Leyba
