Tim Cone positive on potential Giraspur expansion

Coach Tim Cone will soon be wondering whether Gilas Philippines will finally add more players to the squad after injuries marred the national team’s efforts in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT).

“As far as we can maintain the health of our team, we are not looking to make any changes to the 12-man roster at this point,” Cone said at the PBA Draft Combine at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City on Thursday.

Gilas entered Latvia’s group for Paris Olympic qualifiers with just 11 players after Scottie Thompson withdrew at the last minute with a back injury and plans to replace him with RR Pogoi were thwarted by visa issues.

The Nationals ultimately finished the OQT with just 10 healthy players after Kai Soto injured his rib cage in the game against Georgia and then lost to Brazil in the semifinals.

Cone is still assessing whether Jamie Malonzo will be available when Gilas returns to the court in November for the second match of the FIBA ​​Asia Cup qualifiers, when the Philippines will face New Zealand and Hong Kong.

Malonzo has been sidelined since suffering an untimely injury late in Ginebra’s PBA Commissioner’s Cup qualifying win over NorthPort.

Meniscus tear

AJ Edu, who played for Gilas in last year’s FIBA ​​World Cup, has yet to return after tearing his meniscus while playing in the Japan B.League.

“We don’t know when Scottie’s going to be back or if Jamie’s going to be out until the next transfer window,” Cone said. “We’re hopeful AJ will join us at some point, but we’ll make a decision (on whether to add a player) when we know that in November.”

“We’ll make a decision at that point who we want to add and see if they can be part of the team, but we’re going to keep the 12 we have now. There’s a reason we want to keep the three we were missing, so as long as they’re healthy, they’ll continue to be part of the team.”

For now, Cone is once again focused on preparing Ginebra for the upcoming PBA season, in which the Gin Kings own the 10th pick in the first round and will select the player they deem most suitable.

However, the health of Thompson and Malonzo will still impact Ginebra’s preparations for the 49th season, which kicks off in mid-August, although there is excitement around the team as Justin Brownlee returns to bolster the Gin Kings in the Governors Cup.

Brownlee had a great performance for Gilas during the OQT and was named to the All-Star team for the match against Latvia.

The six-time PBA champion will return to Manila to join Ginebra’s development squad after completing his stint with Pelita Jaya in Indonesia.