Gilas Pilipinas continue to navigate around manpower woes but the return of Scottie Thompson and June Mar Fajardo is a reason why Coach Tim Cone remains optimistic entering Window 2 of the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers.
The two PBA MVPs are likely to play alongside each other in the upcoming two-game home stand at the Mall of Asia Arena after injuries barred the both of them from teaming up in the men’s national team’s previous campaigns.
A calf issue sidelined the San Miguel star in the qualifying rounds’ first window back in February, while the Ginebra lead guard got reduced to a spectator in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Latvia last July due to a recurring back issue.
It goes without saying that Fajardo going back for yet another tour of duty would make Gilas formidable upfront and Cone himself is excited, especially after the 6-foot-10 Cebuano center’s solid showing in the Riga-OQT.
There, he averaged 9.0 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and a steal for an efficiency of 12.7 per game, helping the Filipino dribblers upend the hosts and eventually reach the semifinals before bowing to eventual champs Brazil.
“He’s a mainstay. He’s one of our big, go-to guys,” said the 66-year-old shortly after the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas presser in Pasig, Wednesday.
“You’ve seen the way he affects the game with San Miguel, the difference when he plays and when he doesn’t play. And it’s the same with Gilas. He affects the game when he doesn’t play,” he added.
“He’s gonna give us inside presence.”
(C) FIBA.basketball
What Cone also looks forward to in Fajardo’s return is the reunion between the latter and Kai Sotto as the champion mentor will have himself the luxury of rotating two elite bigs on the floor — two bigs that have gelled so well, too.
Plus, it would give the lead think-tank and the team a chance to see what they missed against Brazil, in which Sotto sat out no thanks to a rib injury.
“The nice thing is that Kai and June Mar are developing a chemistry where they can play together,” said Cone, who was compelled to play Fajardo extended minutes against Bruno Caboclo and Co. to address their frontcourt issue.
“That’s a credit to Kai’s versatility and his character in terms of, ‘I’m comfortable with the 5 but I will go play the 4 and be uncomfortable, so that June Mar can stay at the 5.’ So it’s a really good rotation,” he added.
“The two of them, they can play together. And then when June Mar rests, Kai can swing to the 5; and when June Mar comes back, Kai can swing to the 4.”
But while Fajardo provides the inside threat, Thompson’s return, according to Cone, brings back a sense of normalcy to the squad in terms of roles.
The do-it-all playmaker’s absence in the OQT forced the coaches to basically split point guard duties to Chris Newsome and Dwight Ramos, making them take on bigger responsibilities assigned from what they’re tasked to do.
“Scottie kinda equalizes everything,” Cone said. “Because … New is really our endgame stopper, and we want him to really lock into that role.
“So when we went to the OQT he was still that stopper, but he had so much more that he had to worry about in terms of handling the ball.”
“And then Dwight was played out of position because he had to be the off-guard or the secondary ball-handler, and the back-up point guard,” he added.
Now, they won’t have to worry again with Thompson back in the fold, and both Newsome and Ramos can now focus on their respective parts.
“With Scottie back,” Cone said, “it allows New to get back into his role, maybe come off the bench and be our primary stopper. And Dwight can focus on being that off-guard or small forward player which is what he’s really, really good at.
“So, it puts us all back in comfortable roles getting Scottie back in,” added the veteran internationalist, who’s been mentoring Thompson since 2015.
Their backcourt defense has gotten ‘really good’ as well with the Davao-native returning, Cone said, thus his positive outlook for next week’s window where Gilas will be facing New Zealand and Hong Kong, respectively.
“Scottie’s got great size for a point guard. He can defend. And New can defend, Dwight can defend. We got a really good defensive backcourt. And CJ is really our most athletic defender as well,” Cone said.
“So as much as we look at these guys–I think we have a tendency to look at, ‘Wow, this guy is a really good player ’cause he can shoot, he can do this, he can do that’ but our mindset is, you got to be a two-way player.
“Frankly, you gotta start with the defense. And then what you give us on offense is great. That’s our mindset,” he continued. “That’s why Scottie and New and Dwight fit that mindset so well, so much for us.”
