Sluggish first day of training for Gilas Pilipinas

Tim Cone expected the national players to be a little bit sluggish during the first day of training camp on Friday morning at the Inspire Sports Academy in Calamba, Laguna as part of the team's preparation for the second window of the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers.Cone made that assessment as players went through some court workout and shoot around."I think we were a little sluggish today," Cone said, in an interview with One Sports. "I think the guys who were coming off the games right off in Japan, even the (PBA Governors' Cup) Finals, the EASL (East Asia Super League)... so we were a little sluggish today, which is ok,, we live with that."Dwight Ramos, one of several Filipino players seeing action in the Japan B.League, participated in the court drills, along with Meralco wingman Chris Newsome, as well as San Miguel Beer stars June Mar Fajardo and CJ Perez.The three PBA veterans saw action in EASL games on Wednesday where Newsome's Meralco team scored a come-from-behind 81-80 win against the Busan KCC Egis, while the Beermen suffered a 101-85 beating at the hands of the Taoyuan Pauian Pilots.Ginebra stars Scottie Thompson and Japeth Aguilar were also present, along with Jamie Malonzo, who is still recovering from a calf injury, and TNT gunner Calvin Oftana.However, Cone doesn't sound too worried even though the national team will only have a few days to be together at training camp before plunging into action on Nov. 21 against New Zealand."We expect to pick it up as we go along," shared Cone, who himself, only had a several days off since his Barangay Ginebra squad lost to eventual Governors' Cup back-to-back champion TNT in six games in the recent Finals series."The first practice is always the hardest one. We try to bring everybody back together again. We try to get to rehash the offense, and there's always a little bit of some confusion, kind of remember it, jog your memory a little bit," he added.Still, the Gilas Pilipinas mentor believes the current pool have the experience to understand and even recall what they need to do against the Tall Blacks."That's why we're doing this to get better," he said. "The guys have experience already so we expect them to pick it up as the camp go along."Other members of the pool seen on the One Sports video joining the shooting drills include naturalized big man Ange Kouame, UAAP stars Mason Amos and Kevin Quiambao.AJ Edu and Kai Sotto were also seen in some photos posted at One Sports' social media account, but did not participate in the drills.On Wednesday, Gilas Pilipinas team manager Richard Del Rosario said the 6-foot-10 Edu sustained a knee injury early this week while playing for his B.League team Nagasaki Velcas, while Kai Sotto, who plays for the Koshigaya Alphas, is still in the midway point of a concussion protocol.

Tim Cone expected the national players to be a little bit sluggish during the first day of training camp on Friday morning at the Inspire Sports Academy in Calamba, Laguna as part of the team's preparation for the second window of the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers. Cone made that assessment as players went through some court workout and shoot around. "I think we were a little sluggish today," Cone said, in an interview with One Sports.

"I think the guys who were coming off the games right off in Japan, even the (PBA Governors' Cup) Finals, the EASL (East Asia Super League)...

so we were a little sluggish today, which is ok,, we live with that." Dwight Ramos, one of several Filipino players seeing action in the Japan B.League, participated in the court drills, along with Meralco wingman Chris Newsome, as well as San Miguel Beer stars June Mar Fajardo and CJ Perez.

The three PBA veterans saw action in EASL games on Wednesday where Newsome's Meralco team scored a come-from-behind 81-80 win against the Busan KCC Egis, while the Beermen suffered a 101-85 beating at the hands of the Taoyuan Pauian Pilots. Ginebra stars Scottie Thompson and Japeth Aguilar were also present, along with Jamie Malonzo, who is still recovering from a calf injury, and TNT gunner Calvin Oftana. However, Cone doesn't sound too worried even though the national team will only have a few days to be together at training camp before plunging into action on Nov.

21 against New Zealand. "We expect to pick it up as we go along," shared Cone, who himself, only had a several days off since his Barangay Ginebra squad lost to eventual Governors' Cup back-to-back champion TNT in six games in the recent Finals series. "The first practice is always the hardest one.

We try to bring everybody back together again. We try to get to rehash the offense, and there's always a little bit of some confusion, kind of remember it, jog your memory a little bit," he added. Still, the Gilas Pilipinas mentor believes the current pool have the experience to understand and even recall what they need to do against the Tall Blacks.

"That's why we're doing this to get better," he said. "The guys have experience already so we expect them to pick it up as the camp go along." Other members of the pool seen on the One Sports video joining the shooting drills include naturalized big man Ange Kouame, UAAP stars Mason Amos and Kevin Quiambao.

AJ Edu and Kai Sotto were also seen in some photos posted at One Sports' social media account, but did not participate in the drills. On Wednesday, Gilas Pilipinas team manager Richard Del Rosario said the 6-foot-10 Edu sustained a knee injury early this week while playing for his B.League team Nagasaki Velcas, while Kai Sotto, who plays for the Koshigaya Alphas, is still in the midway point of a concussion protocol.

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