Gilas 11 players lang sa FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament

MANILA, Philippines — Isang solidong 11-man team ang ipaparada ng Gilas Pilipinas sa FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament na hahataw sa susunod na buwan sa Riga, Latvia.

Nagdesisyon si Gilas head coach Tim Cone na hindi na kumuha pa ng karagdagang player para punan ang nabakanteng puwesto ni reigning PBA MVP Scottie Thompson.

Galing ang Gilas sa 74-64 panalo laban sa Taiwan Mustangs sa tuneup game na ginanap noong Lunes ng gabi sa Philsports Arena sa Pasig.

“We are going 11 strong. I don’t feel we are shorthanded at all. I’m not a guy who plays 11, 12 guys anyway. You know me? I don’t play that many guys. I’m nearly eight or nine-man rotation,” ani Cone.

Nanindigan si Cone na huwag nang magdagdag pa upang hindi na mahirapan pa na mag-adjust ang kanyang tropa.

“The reason you have 12 guys isn’t necessarily for the game, you have 12 guys in practice or in case somebody goes down. I don’t feel shorthanded at all,” ani Cone.

Para kay Cone, walang magiging problema kung 11 players lamang ang maglalaro sa FIBA Olympic qualifiers. Bahagi ito ng kanyang coaching style.

“People are making a mountain out of a molehill here. It’s not a big of a deal to go 11-strong, at least for me,” ani Cone.

Aminado si Cone na malaking kawalan si Thompson na isa sa pa­ngu­nahing inaasahan nito sa Gilas.

Subalit kailangan na mabilis na mag-move on at isentro ang kanyang a­tensiyon sa kasalukuyang miyembro ng koponan.

“However, I do really, really miss Scottie. You all know how much I rely on Scottie. He is such an infectious player. He infects the guys around him. He does all the things that don’t show up on the scorecard so it’s not that we can’t find a replacement for him. We’re just missing him,” ani Cone.

Si Dwight Ramos ang inaasahang papalit sa puwesto ni Thompson bilang point guard.