Coach Tim Cone will call the shots for Gilas Pilipinas in the upcoming 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.
The Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas president Al Panlilio confirmed the appointment of Cone on Thursday, September 9, in a press conference held at the headquarters of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) in Libis, Quezon City.
Cone replaces Coach Chot Reyes who announced his depature from Gilas Pilipinas after the national team exited the 2023 FIBA World Cup with one win and four losses.
Cone, who served as an assistant coach under Reyes during the World Cup, stressed that he never intended to take the helm of the national team but only accepted the offer due to the closeness of the Asian Games
The 19th Asian Games will officialy open on September 23, and run until October 8.
"I think a lot of assistant coaches wanted to be the head coach eventually, it was never my intention," said Cone, who has 25 PBA titles under his belt.
The winningest coach of the PBA also said that he will only call the shots for Gilas Pilipinas in the upcoming Asian Games.
"At this point, I'm just interim for the Asian Games, and then give SBP time to really explore and figure out the direction which they want to go," Cone said.
The 65-year old coach already has experience leading the Philippine national men's basketball team.
Under his tutelage, the Philippines national men's basketball team struck gold in in the 2019 Southeast Asian Games in the Philippines, and the 2023 edition of the multi-sports event in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Cone also called the shots for the Philippine team that won a bronze medal in the 1998 Asian Games in Bangkok, Thailand
