Cone faces grizzled coaches

MANILA, Philippines — For Gilas, it won’t only be a battle among men in sneakers at the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Riga, Latvia, on July 2-7 but also a clash of wits between head coach Tim Cone and two hardened European tacticians in the group stage. Cone, the PBA’s winningest coach, will be up against Latvia’s Italian mentor Luca Banchi on July 3 and Georgia’s Serbian drillmaster Aleksandar Dzikic on July 4.

Cone, 66, put into perspective Gilas’ quest to make it to Paris. “We’re going to Latvia to win,” he said. “That’s not our focus but it’s our goal. Our focus is on the day-to-day process it’s going to take to achieve that goal. We’re on a mission in the truest sense of the word.” From an initial pool of 12, Cone expanded it to 14 with the addition of Japeth Aguilar and Mason Amos. But injuries to Scottie Thompson, Jamie Malonzo and AJ Edu left Cone with 11 able bodies.

Banchi, 58, was named Best Coach of the 2023 FIBA World Cup for leading Latvia to fifth place, upending in the process Lebanon, Tokyo Olympic silver medalist France, defending champion Spain, Brazil, Italy and Lithuania. Latvia ranked first in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.5:1 on 24.4 assists and 9.8 turnovers a game. A two-time Italian league titlist, Banchi has piloted Latvia to a 24-3 record since the World Cup pre-qualifiers. He has coached in Italy, France, Germany, Greece, Russia and the NBA G-League with Brooklyn’s affiliate Long Island Nets as an assistant.

Dzikic, 53, replaced Ilias Zouros after Georgia failed to qualify for the FIBA World Cup quarterfinals last year. He apprenticed with the Seattle SuperSonics and San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Summer League before signing a three-year contract with the Minnesota Timberwolves as an assistant in 2005. A four-time Slovenian league champion and 2023 Israel league Coach of the Year, Dzikic has coached in Serbia, Israel, Spain, Macedonia, Slovenia, Lithuania and Georgia. 

Banchi relies on ball movement, perimeter shooting, efficiency in execution on both ends and backcourt control while Dzikic prefers a slow-down, physical game focusing on bruising frontliners to dominate the interior.