But that’s for the future. Immediately after the final buzzer sounded, Cone’s thoughts were grounded on the present, on the minor problems that popped out in the middle of the team’s celebration.
“They wouldn’t even allow us to go to the podium to take a picture, but those are their rules. But we got our pictures on the sidelines with the guys so that was nice,’’ said Cone.
Gold medals aren’t handed out for coaches and their staff as well, so Chris Newsome, who starred in defense by making it hard for Rondae Hollis-Jefferson to operate, put his gold medal around Cone’s neck. Center June Mar Fajardo lent his to team manager Alfrancis Chua.
“So we held our gold medals for a few moments, which was good enough. This is a players’ game and the players deserved it,’’ said Cone.
The problems were exponentially bigger before the tournament, when the national team that represented the country in the World Cup was gutted by players departing to fulfill their contractual obligations to club teams abroad.
That meant national team brain trust had to overhaul the team and build around World Cup holdovers Fajardo, Scottie Thompson, Japeth Aguilar and CJ Perez. Justin Brownlee was a shoo-in to replace NBA star and naturalized Filipino Jordan Clarkson while pool members last cut from the World Cup squad, Calvin Oftana and Newsome, were included in the team.
Cone then added Ange Kouame, who like Brownlee, Oftana and Newsome had already been practicing with the national pool, easing the chemistry problems of the Asiad squad.
While the SBP is being run by the MVP group with chairman emeritus Manny V. Pangilinan and its president Al Panlilio calling the shots, this team was formed with the help of San Miguel Corporation through its big boss Ramon S. Ang.
San Miguel Beer veterans Chris Ross and Marcio Lassiter, who both saw action for the gold-winning Philippine team in the 2023 Southeast Asian Games, were capped anew, along with Kevin Alas and Arvin Tolentino.
Cone, with assistants Jong Uichico, Richard del Rosario, Josh Reyes and LA Tenorio, ironed out problems on the fly and even with less-than-ideal preparations, had no qualms in pointing out the team’s target: The Asian Games gold medal.
Slippery detour
Gilas Pilipinas members celebrate with their gold medals after defeating Jordan in their men’s basketball gold medal at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, Friday, Oct. 6, 2023. REUTERS/Marko Djurica
He didn’t waver even after a group-phase beating at the hands of Jordan forced the Philippines into a slippery detour. But the national squad never lost foothold and Cone is an Asian Games champion, finally, after settling for bronze in 1998, when he handled a well-prepared Centennial Team that kicked off the dream of reclaiming the Philippines’ old spot on top of the continent.