Cone wants Kouame to be Gilas regular

MANILA, Philippines — While Justin Brownlee is the main naturalized player, coach Tim Cone would prefer to have backup Ange Kouame in every Gilas Pilipinas training camp and hopefully, naturalization prospect Bennie Boatwright soon.

The Ivorian-born Kouame, who is currently playing for Meralco in the East Asia Super League, was among the 15 players called up for the sessions at Inspire Academy in Laguna that starts today ahead of next week’s FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers.

“Ange is very important to us and we need him there so he can be ready to step in immediately (in the naturalized player slot), if necessary,” said Cone.

“Plus he is one of a few guys who can throw a body at June Mar (Fajardo) and get June Mar ready playing against bigger players. He has a very important role for us but he will most likely not be in the lineup because we expect Justin (Brownlee) to play both games (against New Zealand on the 21st and Hong Kong on the 24th).”

The 6-foot-11 Kouame, he shared, would have been a part of Gilas’ previous camp in the run-up to the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Latvia last July if he was not tied up with his club in France then.

“We hope he’ll always be available,” said Cone.

“If, God forbid, something happens to Justin, we would be able to bring in Ange and he would know the system and what we ask of him. It’s important to have him as part of the program as much as possible as that backup as we wait for Bennie Boatwright to go through the process of his naturalization.”

While waiting for the wheels of the Philippine naturalization process to move, Boatwright is also recuperating from an Achilles injury.

“His papers got delayed because of issues that were going on in the government. And so he got put on the back burner. And so he’s not eligible yet,” said Cone.

“But we’re still waiting for him. And in the meantime, Ange is our backup. Bennie still can’t play until December anyway as he’s coming off an injury. But he is definitely a candidate for the February window. And we’ll take a look at that and see what happens then.”