Tim Cone glad to have 'Gilas equalizer' Scottie Thompson back

The team's only pure point guard, having Thompson back for the second window of the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup qualifier would allow Gilas to return to its natural schemes with the other players nowbeingable to play on their comfortable positions, according to Cone. Gilas Pilipinas head coach Tim Cone was glad to finally have Scottie Thompson back in the fold especially with the stability he's bringing into the team. The team's only pure point guard, having Thompson back for the second window of the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup qualifier would allow Gilas to return to its natural schemes with the other players now being able to play on their comfortable positions, according to Cone.

During the Olympic Qualifying tournament last July in Latvia, Cone missed the services of Thompson due to lingering back issues, prompting him to play both Dwight Ramos and Chris Newsome at the point guard spot. "Scottie kind of equalizes everything because we had to play, New is really our in-game stopper and we want him to really lock into that role. So when we went to the OQT, he was still that stopper but he had so much more that he had to worry about in terms of handling the ball," said Cone.



"And then Dwight was played out of position because he had to be the off guard or the secondary ball handler and the backup point guard," he added. While both Ramos and Newsome did well in sharing the playmaking role during the OQT with both of them becoming a catalyst to Gilas' upset of Latvia, Cone believes the two can impact the game more when played on their natural roles. For one, as the primary playmaker, Thompson is dishing out nine assists per contest in the two games during the first window while also averaging 3.

5 points and 2.5 rebounds. "Scottie's presence kind of moves everybody back into their roles and you have that tremendous energy guy," Cone said of the one-time PBA Most Valuable Player.

"Scottie back allows New to get back into his role, maybe come off the bench and be our primary stopper. And then Dwight can really focus on being that off guard or small forward player, which is what he's really, really good at. So it puts us all back in comfortable roles," Cone pointed out.

Cone also pointed out the size and defense Thompson can bring in his return, especially up against a physical and rugged team like New Zealand. "Plus, Scottie's got great size for a point guard. He can defend and New can defend and Dwight can defend.

We've got a really good defensive backcourt. And CJ is really our most athletic defender as well," he added..