Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Tiebreaker Times
(c) FIBA.basketball

Basketball

Tim Cone on Gilas’ loss to Brazil: ‘Losing Kai Sotto took away our depth’


Entering the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament 2024-Riga, Gilas Pilipinas Men were already shorthanded.

Starting point guard Scottie Thompson opted out of national duties to address his bad back, which he had been nursing since the FIBA World Cup 2023.

On Saturday evening (Manila time), the Philippines scratched off one more player, going down to just 10 healthy bodies.

Kai Sotto asked to be excused from the game after sustaining a bruised rib in Thursday’s game against Georgia when a 250-pound Goga Bitadze crashed onto his prone body.

Though the x-rays did not reveal any fractures, the 7-foot-3 Sotto said the pain was still unbearable two days after the incident, altering Tim Cone’s rotation against Brazil.

2024-FIBA-OQT-Gilas-vs-Brazil-Kai-Sotto-and-Mason-Amos Tim Cone on Gilas' loss to Brazil: 'Losing Kai Sotto took away our depth' Basketball Gilas Pilipinas News  - philippine sports news

(c) FIBA.basketball

“We don’t want to make excuses, but losing Kai was a big blow for us because it took away our depth in the frontline and forced June Mar Fajardo to overplay minutes,” Cone opined after the Philippines’ 60-71 loss to Brazil, which extinguished their Paris dreams.

“That kind of all mushroomed right there.”

During the group phase of the Riga tournament, the seven-time PBA Most Valuable Player averaged 29.0 minutes per game.

Though still playing 30 minutes against Brazil, Fajardo was forced to play beyond his responsibilities while sharing time with Japeth Aguilar and Carl Tamayo.

By the final frame and down 39-51, the 6-foot-10 Fajardo was already exhausted.

2024-FIBA-OQT-Gilas-vs-Brazil-June-Mar-Fajardo Tim Cone on Gilas' loss to Brazil: 'Losing Kai Sotto took away our depth' Basketball Gilas Pilipinas News  - philippine sports news

(c) FIBA.basketball

“Again, we just lacked a big man. We had to overplay our frontline. June Mar got really tired battling against No. 51 (Bruno Caboclo) and No. 6 (Christiano Felicio). Those guys were rotating on him and ganging up on him,” said Cone about Fajardo, who ended up with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

“It was a tough battle for him being there by himself.”

In a tournament like the OQT, it’s hard to make adjustments, let alone lose a player. That’s just the nature of the beast.

#ReadMore  No Cap: Who deserves to take the 24 PBA All-Star slots

Now, Gilas can only lament what could have been and hope it won’t happen again on their road to the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

“Like Coach Tim said, it just takes one night to not show up and play your best, and you lose. That’s how good the teams are here,” said Dwight Ramos, who led Gilas with 13 points.

“Tonight, we didn’t play our best, and Brazil beat us.”

Written By


You May Also Like

Basketball

Ginebra took a big step in its aspirations of regaining PBA Governors’ Cup glory as it marched on to the Finals after finishing off...

Basketball

ANTIPOLO – Scottie Thompson asserted himself early and that proved to be the spark Ginebra needed in thrashing San Miguel, 121-92, on Friday night...

Basketball

June Mar Fajardo and EJ Anosike led the third-quarter assault as San Miguel got back at Ginebra, 131-121, to send their PBA Governors’ Cup...

Basketball

Justin Brownlee starred yet again as Barangay Ginebra got back at San Miguel, 99-94, to take a 2-1 lead in their PBA Season 49...

Basketball

Terrence Romeo came alive and saved San Miguel from Ginebra in overtime, 131-125,, to get even in their PBA Season 49 Governors’ Cup semifinals...

Basketball

Not even Justin Brownlee’s record-setting night would convert a basketball purist like Tim Cone into a fan of the PBA’s controversial four-point shot. The...

Basketball

Justin Brownlee fueled the third-quarter breakaway as Ginebra took down San Miguel, 122-105, to seize the early lead in their PBA Season 49 Governors’...

Basketball

ANTIPOLO – San Miguel simply went to June Mar Fajardo when it mattered most and as proven countless times in the past, that worked...

Advertisement