Gilas Pilipinas Ready to Defend Home Turf in SEA Games Men's Basketball Tournament

Gilas Pilipinas plunges into the action in the 30^th Southeast Asian Games, hoping to defend its home floor when it takes on Singapore in its opening game in the men’s basketball tournament at the Mall of Asia Arena on Wednesday.

The star-studded team of head coach Tim Cone is looking to announce the country’s intention of capturing a 13^th straight gold medal in this competition with an impressive win in its very first game.

Tip-off is set at 8:15 p.m.

The decorated head coach has at his disposal a formidable collection of talent led by five-time PBA Most Valuable Player June Mar Fajardo and other Gilas veterans led by Troy Rosario, Japeth Aguilar, Kiefer Ravena, and LA Tenorio.

The two-time grand slam champion coach expressed that he and the rest of the squad have made do with whatever time they were given to prepare.

"For the short time that we have had, we feel we have the guys, not exactly where we want them, but where we need them to be," said Cone.

Gilas has practiced on a weekly basis for the last two months and got its full squad together for an extended period last week. Nevertheless, Cone has come away happy with how the team has kept up with their preparations.

"They have worked hard and have been serious in their approach. We're hoping that translates once we hit the floor Wednesday against Singapore," Cone said.

Cone completed his final roster on Tuesday afternoon for submission to the competition authorities, selecting Greg Slaughter as the replacement for the injured Roger Pogoy.

The 7-foot Slaughter, a gold medalist in the 2011 edition, got Cone’s nod over Scottie Thompson and Arthur dela Cruz to join the SEAG-bound team that also has the likes of Stanley Pringle, Matthew Wright, Marcio Lassiter, Chris Ross, Christian Standhardinger, and Vic Manuel.

"This is something we don't want to lose. This is our home territory, we're hosting, we want to make sure that our showcase sport wins the gold medal and so we're gonna go really hard and try to figure out the best way to do this and do it well. That's the goal," said Cone.

(Photo from Gilas Pilipinas Facebook page)