No changes to Gilas roster -- Cone

MANILA, Philippines -- If Gilas head coach Tim Cone would have his way, he would keep the original Gilas Pilipinas 12 intact in the near future.

However, with the injuries to the team, Cone might be forced to possibly expand the team.

In an interview with reporters on Thursday at the sidelines of the PBA Draft Combine, Cone said he does not see himself making any changes to the Nationals’ roster at this point, “as long as we continue to be healthy.”

“I don’t know how Scottie [Thompson] is gonna be coming back. Jamie [Malonzo] still is gonna be out probably to the next window, and we’re hoping AJ [Edu] would join us at some point,” he told reporters.

“We’ll find out more about them come November. We’ll decide at that point who to add or who to ask, see if they’re available for us, but we’re gonna continue to stick with our official 12,” he added.

Thompson, Malonzo and Edu did not play for Gilas in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament last week due to injuries.

Thompson is currently sidelined with a back injury. Malonzo suffered a calf injury, while Edu had a torn meniscus.

The Nationals fielded just 11 players in the OQT, as Japeth Aguilar and Mason Amos joined the team.

“There was a reason why we want those three guys that we lacked, so that hasn’t changed, so as long as they are healthy they’re gonna be… continue to be a part of it,” Cone said.

The PBA’s most-titled coach also stressed that he missed Thompson a lot during the OQT, especially with “how much I rely personally on a coaching standpoint on Scottie.”

“Everything is built around and through him, so it’s a big loss for us in Gilas. We have players around and put them in different positions, especially Dwight [Ramos,] and I think we could have gotten more out of Dwight if he had been in the natural position,” he underscored.

But for now, Cone is focused on the PBA draft on Sunday, where Barangay Ginebra will pick 10th.

“We were saying earlier that it’s gonna be a very strong first round I think. There’s gonna be 12 players in that draft that can really impact the league so we were just talking with Coach Olsen [Racela] about how this draft looked so much stronger than last year’s draft,” he said.

“Watching the players play, it got some good depth. We’ll see what happens in the second round. We were no.10 but we have a couple of picks in the second round as well,” he added.

The team is eyeing to pick a big man or a point guard with their first round draft pick.

“Let’s just wait and see who goes and drops to us. But it’s a good draft and a lot of teams are gonna be happy about their picks.”