Guiao lauds Cone's unifying leadership, 'balanced' Gilas team

Guiao lauds Cone’s unifying leadership, ‘balanced’ Gilas team

YENG Guiao once called the shots for Gilas Pilipinas at the 2019 Fiba Basketball World Cup in China.

READ: Where to watch Gilas games vs HK, Taipei in Fiba Asia Cup qualifiers

Now that the men’s national  team has a leader for the long term, Guiao has nothing but praise for how his fellow PBA champion coach Tim Cone began restoring unity and balance in the program ahead of the first window of the 2025 Fiba Asia Cup qualifiers.

tim cone gilas

PHOTO: Jerome Ascano

“I think malaki yung chance natin [sa Fiba Asia Cup qualifiers]. Coach Tim Cone has been doing really good job of bringing together the team and the composition has been well-balanced,” said Guiao.

“I’m sure everybody knows na from his success doon sa Asian Games and sa World Cup, kayang-kaya natin ‘yung Hong Kong at saka ‘yung Taiwan na makakalaban din natin. I think we can beat those teams easily with the lineup that we have,” he added.

The first window of Gilas’ regional qualifiers will feature an away match against Hong Kong on Thursday, followed by a keenly awaited home game versus Chinese Taipei on Sunday at the Philsports Arena.

Not only will the double-header mark Cone’s first pair of Gilas matches as permanent head coach, but it also marks the opening salvo of the four-year, 12-man national team pool featuring the likes of multi-awarded homegrown aces and local MVPs in Scottie Thompson, Kevin Quiambao, and the returning Justin Brownlee.