Gilas Pilipinas coach Tim Cone.–MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines—As far as Gilas Pilipinas interim coach Tim Cone is concerned, all hope is not lost on the quartet of Mo Tautuaa, Calvin Abueva, Terrence Romeo and Jason Perkins’ chance to play in the upcoming Asian Games.
After Gilas’ 86-81 victory over the Changwon LG Sakers in a tuneup at Philsports Arena on Friday, Cone bared that while the continental meet is only a few days away, the four are still not entirely out of the equation.
“Is there no hope for them? They’re breathing. That’s about all you can say. They’re still alive. We’re still working on it,” said Cone.
“We’ll have a definitive answer by the 24th but by and large, we got our 12 right there today.”
Gilas Pilipinas’ Calvin Abueva during training. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino has been lobbying hard for the inclusion of the four to bolster Gilas’ bid. Though time is not on the country’s side with the Asiad’s opening ceremony set Saturday while Gilas’ campaign begins on Tuesday against Bahrain.
Chris Ross, Arvin Tolentino, Kevin Alas and CJ Perez have been added to the roster and suited up against Changwon.
Marcio Lassiter, meanwhile is a shoo-in for Gilas, stepping in for Roger Pogoy who has undisclosed health problems.
“If those four came in suddenly, would we take them? That’s a decision we’d have to make. I think it’s likely that we would, because they were longer with us than the new guys.”
Gilas, which finished 24th in the World Cup, flies to China on Sunday.
“We were supposed to leave tomorrow, then we got delayed for a day to have one more practice after this game and then leave on Sunday. That is the 24th. So who knows, maybe we’ll have information—I don’t know—by that time.”