Gilas to go at full steam two days before opening

Tim Cone has been talking about this for weeks, and now he’s finally taking it head-on.

The Gilas Pilipinas coach canceled Monday night’s practice at Meralco Gym in Ortigas in a bid to keep his Barangay Ginebra chargers, and all the others playing in the PBA for that matter, in tiptop shape—mentally and physically—as the Governors’ Cup enters a crucial phase.

He feels that he cannot get anything out of the Gilas practice with the players in the pool—all belonging to teams still in the Governors’ Cup running—having their minds somewhere else and reserving their strength for something else.

“TNT is coming back from an out-of-town (game),” he said. “San Miguel and TNT have a big game on Wednesday, too. I’m not sure what we can get done in one practice.”

And while the decorated coach admits to being bothered having one less training for the pool bound for the Southeast Asian Games on Nov. 30, Cone raised a point worthy of examination.

“It’s always a concern, one less (practice). But again, what can we get done with all the guys [preoccupied]?” Cone asked.

“Their focus is somewhere else, their energy is being reserved for something else. That’s why I’d like to get this thing—the quarterfinals—done, and then we can really focus on the SEA Games.”

Cone said that Gilas will practice on a daily basis starting on Nov. 28 where he can have all hands on deck and the PBA already on a break and he can really turn in practices with more value.

“I trust our (Gilas) players that when the time comes, they’ll be ready,” he said. “And they got a feel for our offense, and we just gotta create better habits for our defense.”

“An hour and a half of practice, and then a week and a half off won’t do that for us,” Cone, who has a one-0and-done deal to handle Gilas, continued.

“I don’t want to just practice just for the purpose of showing up and saying we practiced,” he said.