All 15 members of Gilas Pilipinas’ talent pool for the 30th Southeast Asian Games were present on Monday, as the Nationals continued their preparations for the regional biennial meet.
The Barangay Ginebra San Miguel nucleus of LA Tenorio, Japeth Aguilar, Greg Slaughter, Scottie Thompson, Stanley Pringle, and Art Dela Cruz spearheaded the session.
The TNT KaTropa trio of Jayson Castro, Roger Pogoy, and Troy Rosario; and San Miguel Beermen stars June Mar Fajardo, Marcio Lassiter, and Chris Ross also took part in the practice.
Alaska Aces main man Vic Manuel, Phoenix Pulse Fuel Masters franchise player Matthew Wright, and new NorthPort Batang Pier slotman Christian Standhardinger completed the cast.
Had coach Tim Cone himself is proud of the perfect attendance from the players.
‘It’s exciting because it seems like everybody’s buying in. We had great attendance today,” he said.
“I told the players I came here thinking two or three guys wouldn’t show up because that’s just kind of like what the national team goes through, but we had all fifteen guys today.
“We want them to keep coming. We’re really proud of all these guys for still showing up,” Cone added.
Cone said that he’s really proud of the players, especially those who are coming off games last Sunday night.
Lassiter, Fajardo, and Ross played in San Miguel’s 103-97 come-from-behind win over the Columbian Dyip; meanwhile, the Gin Kings are fresh from their 105-83 mauling of the Magnolia Hotshots.
“These guys are vets and what was it, nine guys played last night? Big games, important games, hard games. Those guys showing up and going through the paces with us today is a real honor.”
For Cone, they want to repay that effort by holding meaningful practices at every given opportunity.
“We want to honor them by making sure we have the right kind of practices. We don’t waste their time, we keep them fresh for their mother teams,” said the decorated bench tactician.
“They’re relying on us to do that so they can go out to continue to win games for their mother teams, earn their salaries, and earn their bonuses,” Cone furthered.
“That’s a key goal for the coaching staff — we got to repay them for coming here. Hopefully, that’s what we’re doing.”
