By REYNALD MAGALLON
Gilas Pilipinas head coach Tim Cone admitted that the absence of veteran guard Scottie Thompson left the team a huge hole to fill but the multi-titled mentor is confident that his guards can fill the void.
Cone revealed that Thompson was out of the lineup due to a hamstring injury, prompting him to replace him with Juan Gomez de Liano in the Final 12.
Gomez de Liano will be teaming up with RJ Abarrientos in running the play on the backcourt for Gilas
“Scotty’s got a really, really bad hamstring. It got worse as the series went on. After game 7 it was really quite bad. Dr. Canlas has ordered him to have 6-8 weeks of rest,” said Cone.
“We’re really going to miss him. (But) it gives guys like Juan a chance to come out and play. One guy’s misfortune is another person’s fortune. This is good for Juan,” he added.
Emerging as one of the potent scorers for Converge in the PBA, Gomez de Liano was added to the pool in the last two windows. And while his game hasn’t been fully translated in the international play, Gilas had seen glimpses of his potential.
Combining Gomez de Liano with Abarrientos, who had a breakout conference that saw him win his first championship along with a Best Player of the Conference award, really excites Cone.
“It’s going to be interesting to see Juan and RJ lead the team in the backcourt,” he added.
The Nationals are currently in Brisbane as part of their preparations for the pair of road games against New Zealand and Australia in the third window of the 2027 FIBA World Cup qualifiers.
