TIM Cone admitted he felt unusually exposed coaching Gilas Pilipinas without longtime naturalized star Justin Brownlee but the team’s response made Friday’s dramatic win over Jordan even sweeter.
Gilas relied on one of its tallest lineups in years as Kai Sotto, AJ Edu and June Mar Fajardo all saw action in the Philippines’ thrilling 82-81 overtime victory over Jordan in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 Asian Qualifiers.
Cone, who has always preferred having size on his teams, said coaching three prominent big men has been an enjoyable challenge.
“I’ve always favored big teams, so now I’m a big man’s coach. I love coaching big men,” Cone said.
“To have Kai, AJ, and June Mar part of this team is really fun for me, and I’m trying to figure out how best to play them.”
Cone acknowledged that the size advantage can be tempting, but against Jordan, the better adjustment was to go smaller and faster.
“I’d like to play them together more, but as you can see tonight, going a little smaller and faster was the better game plan,” he said.
The bigger emotional adjustment, however, was playing without Brownlee.
“It was tough not having Justin. Justin is my comfort blanket,” Cone said. “I put him on, and I’ve been doing that for 10, 11 years, and not to have him, I felt very exposed.”
Yet Gilas found a way.
Kevin Quiambao knocked down the go-ahead three-pointer in overtime before Sotto delivered the game-saving block in the final seconds, allowing the Philippines to escape with a crucial one-point victory.
Cone said the absence of Brownlee ultimately made the victory more meaningful. “These guys stepped up, and not having Justin there is what made this even sweeter.”
But Cone was quick to remind his players that the job is far from finished.
“We came in here with two do-or-die games. We got one done,” he said. Now, Gilas must face Iran on Sunday, with the Iranians coming off a loss to New Zealand and expected to be highly motivated.
“We got to go out and get another one against a really, really tough Iran team,” Cone said.
After surviving Jordan without his longtime “comfort blanket,” Cone and Gilas now have one more do-or-die test standing between them and a much-needed boost in their World Cup qualification campaign. (Jesus Nathaniel Valdez)
