Thirdy, young Gilas impress Cone: ‘Future looks bright’

Photo from Fiba.com

MANILA, Philippines — The youthful Philippine team made quite a first impression on Sunday when it whipped Indonesia in the 2021 Fiba Asia Cup qualifiers in Jakarta.

Gilas Pilipinas opened its campaign with a 100-70 rout—a rousing debut that even left former national team head coach Tim Cone raving about the “future” of the country’s basketball program.

“Great win for Gilas!! Impressive. Young guns really carried the fight. Wow, Thirdy!! Well played, well-coached. Hats off!” Cone wrote on Twitter Monday, referring to Thirdy Ravena, who led the team against Indonesia.

“Future looks bright for Gilas!” Cone, who guided Gilas to a gold medal finish in the Southeast Asian Games two months ago, added in a separate tweet.

The 23-year-old Ravena, one of three amateurs on the team, starred with team-bests of 23 points, eight rebounds and two blocks.

The squad, coached by Kiwi-Australian Mark Dickel, featured five players aged 23 or younger including 20-year-old Juan Gomez De Liaño.

Four more hit double-digit scoring with Roger Pogoy tallying 16 points, CJ Perez adding 11 while skipper Kiefer Ravena and De Liaño chipped in 10 apiece.

Great win for Gilas!! Impressive. Young guns really carried the fight. Wow, Thirdy!! Well played, well-coached. Hats off!

— Tim Cone (@manilacone) February 24, 2020

Future looks good for Gilas!

— Tim Cone (@manilacone) February 24, 2020