Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Tiebreaker Times
(C) Marita Brigitta Mones

2023 FIBA World Cup

With or without Kai, Tim Cone confident June Mar can hold Gilas fort


Gilas Pilipinas received some bad news on Sunday morning.

Kai Sotto, who has been instrumental for the Philippines during this FIBA cycle, cast doubt on his availability for the 2023 FIBA World Cup after sustaining a back injury in Orlando’s final game in the 2023 NBA Summer League.

Gilas assistant coach Tim Cone bared that he and the rest of the coaching staff headed by Chot Reyes have yet to talk about the ongoing development.

But Gilas have been practicing with the possibility of not having Sotto or Jordan Clarkson for the global meet next month.

“We’ve always been practicing like we don’t get him,” said Cone, who watched Ginebra’s PBA on Tour game against Converge at the Filoil Ecooil Centre on Sunday.

“It’s always been a possibility from the very beginning. Same with Jordan Clarkson, it’s a possibility.

“We have looked at different scenarios but nothing is set in stone that I know of,” he continued.

Since 2016, Sotto was seen as a pillar of Gilas for the World Cup.

2023-FIBA-World-Cup-Asian-Qualifiers-Gilas-vs-Saudi-Arabia-Kai-Sotto With or without Kai, Tim Cone confident June Mar can hold Gilas fort 2023 FIBA World Cup Basketball Gilas Pilipinas News  - philippine sports news

(C) FIBA.basketball

Over the past three years, the 7-foot-3 big man appeared in nine FIBA games for Gilas.

In the World Cup Asian Qualifiers, the 21-year-old posted numbers of 13.0 points and 10.5 rebounds in four games played.

Though it would be hard to replicate what Sotto gives the Philippines, Cone is not worried at all, saying that June Mar Fajardo can be the rock the country needs.

And the six-time PBA Most Valuable Player showed that he can during Gilas’ tuneups in Estonia and Lithuania.

#ReadMore  PBA: Robert Bolick amazes in return as Northport deals Meralco first loss

“I’ll tell you one thing. Watch any of the games we played out there, June Mar is absolutely dominating. We feel very comfortable at the center position with June Mar,” said Cone. According to The Short Corner’s Ryan Alba, Fajardo averaged 11.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in six friendlies.

“Wow! There was nobody in Europe that could stop him. He was going against seven-footers, six-ten, six-eleven and just dominating everybody.

“He has given us great hope that he can fill out that position. He has been doing it on both sides, defending well and he is scoring. He is doing his June Mar things,” he added.

Fajardo already has two World Cups under his belt.2019-fiba-world-cup-iran-def-philippines-june-mar-fajardo With or without Kai, Tim Cone confident June Mar can hold Gilas fort 2023 FIBA World Cup Basketball Gilas Pilipinas News  - philippine sports news

However, the 6-foot-10 big man out of Cebu only mustered numbers of 6.6 points and 4.2 rebounds in 2014 and followed it up with norms of 7.0 points and 5.5 rebounds in 2019.

This time around though, Fajardo will be ready, assured Cone.

“We weren’t sure if he can do that in the international arena but we found out in Europe that he can.”

(With reports from Jose Gabriel Ignacio)

Written By


You May Also Like

Basketball

It may no longer be just about making the necessary adjustments for head coach Tim Cone and the rest of Barangay Ginebra after losing...

Basketball

TNT leaned on its hot shooting from beyond the arc early to beat Barangay Ginebra, 95-89, and gain the head start in the PBA...

Basketball

To say that their careers are forever intertwined may sound cliche, but that’s basically been the reality Tim Cone and Chot Reyes live in....

Basketball

Chot Reyes was right. Hours after calling TNT’s potential opponent in the PBA Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup Finals, Ginebra proved him correct by dispatching...

Basketball

NorthPort avoided a sweep with a hard-fought 108-103 victory over Barangay Ginebra in Game 4 of the PBA Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup semifinals, Wednesday...

Basketball

It just felt great for Jamie Malonzo to dunk again after serving one of the best highlight plays in Ginebra’s conquest of NorthPort to...

Basketball

Jamie Malonzo played his best game since returning as Ginebra moved one win away from sweeping NorthPort following a dominant 127-100 victory in Game...

Basketball

Ginebra moved halfway through in finishing NorthPort after another dominant victory, 119-106, to seize Game 2 of their PBA Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup semifinal...

Advertisement