There will be no amateur players in Gilas Pilipinas’ talent pool for the 30th Southeast Asian Games.
Coach Tim Cone said that he and the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas decided to not include youngsters in the pool as they do not want to intervene with the scheduling of both the UAAP and NCAA collegiate leagues.
The federation initially had a list of players made specifically for the regional meet that featured. amateur stars led by Kobe Paras and Thirdy Ravena. Unfortunately, this will no longer push through since the SBP has gone for an all-PBA team.
That all-PBA pool consists of 15 players, with six key guys from the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel in LA Tenorio, Greg Slaughter, Japeth Aguilar, Scottie Thompson, Stanley Pringle, and Art Dela Cruz leading the way.
“For the amateurs, we didn’t want to disrupt the ongoing UAAP and NCAA seasons at this time,” Cone said.
Moreover, given time constraints for preparations, the national team will only have a total of 14 practices heading into the Games. Cone pointed out that they could not afford the time to hold tryouts for the young ones.
“As for the selection of the fifteen, we didn’t add the young PBA players or amateurs because of the short window we have to prepare. We just don’t have the practice time for try-outs,” said the decorated bench strategist.
Moreover, the veterans will have an easier time picking things up, a necessary factor since the team will be pressed for time ahead of the showpiece that opens on November 30.
“If you noticed, there’s no Bolick or Perez or Parks. We decided to go with a veteran group, again because — and this is not always the truth — generally, veterans are easier to coach short-term. They pick up things faster,” Cone said.
“This is all about speed and efficiency that we’re trying to do. I know that guys like Bolick and Perez had a great [World Cup], but once we decided we were gonna take six Ginebra players, we decided to go with a veteran group,” he continued.
“And I know there’s always gonna be questions of, ‘Why wasn’t this guy picked?’ I can’t go through every reason. It’s just about finding the balance in terms of position and trying to fit all the pieces of the puzzle together.”
