Juan Gomez de Liaño didn’t make the final cut of Gilas Pilipinas going to Guam for the first window of the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers. But Tim Cone assures he will be on the team very soon.
Juan Gomez de Liaño may be out of the Gilas Pilipinas for the first window of the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers, but it’s only a matter of time before he cracks the final lineup.
Gilas head coach Tim Cone had this to say after revealing his 12-man squad that will visit Guam on November 28.
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“Juan is a future Gilas player. He’ll be on the team at some point,” Cone told reporters at the Upper Deck VIP Lounge just an hour after the team wrapped up its final practice before flying out.
Apart from JGDL, Troy Rosario and Jamie Malonzo were also cut.
At the moment, the Converge star rookie is still trying to get a full grasp of the triangle offense Cone is running at Gilas.
[ALSO READ: June Mar Fajardo opens up about looming Gilas retirement: ‘Dapat makinig din sa katawan ko’]
That played a factor in not bringing him over to Guam now since de Liaño only joined practice this month.
“It just happened to be that this time he’s still new to the system. But what we did with him is we laid the foundation for Juan in terms of him learning the system this time and then be able to go with it next time,” Cone said.
“He’s gonna be a fixture on this team. Instead of saying we’re sorry to Juan, it’s ‘Congratulations Juan, you proved your worth, you’re gonna be on this team no doubt about it.’”
Cone and Gilas leave for Guam later tonight, November 25 with hopes the Filipinos can chalk up an important victory before hosting their foes at the Ateneo Blue Eagle Gym on Dec. 1.
[ALSO READ: Carl Tamayo keeping fingers crossed visa issue gets sorted before Gilas flies to Guam]
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Like most sportswriters, Jan Ballesteros once dreamed of becoming a professional hooper. But he learned the hard way that it’s not for everyone.
He continues to be involved in the sport he loves, but this time as a member of the PBA Press Corps. Aside from primarily covering the PBA, he is also assigned to cover Gilas Pilipinas.