Tim Cone confirms that players involved in the PBA Finals are exempt from Gilas training sessions

The Philippines men’s national basketball team is set to return to action soon as they prepare for the upcoming 2025 FIBA Asia Cup, scheduled to take place in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, next month.

Gilas Pilipinas are currently deep in training for the continental competition but are missing three of their top stars: June Mar Fajardo, CJ Perez, and Calvin Oftana. The trio are currently competing in the ongoing Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup Finals between the San Miguel Beermen and TNT Tropang Giga, in what is shaping up to be an exciting series.

Gilas head coach Tim Cone has confirmed that Fajardo, Perez, and Oftana have been excused from attending training sessions, noting that it would be unfair to expect them to play intense games at night and join practices the next morning.

“Until after the finals—what can we do? We can’t have them here. I know how demanding it is to be in the finals and then have to attend other practices. It’s not going to work. It’s not fair to the other team since they are the stars of the team,” Cone said in a media interaction.

Cone remains unconcerned about their absence, explaining that the Gilas program has been structured to manage such situations, whether due to injury or club commitments. Currently, all of Gilas’ top players—including Dwight Ramos, Carl Tamayo, AJ Edu, Chris Newsome, Jamie Malonzo, Troy Rosario, and star naturalized player Justin Brownlee—are participating in practice. Scottie Thompson was also present but did not take part, as he is recovering from a hamstring injury.

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Justin Brownlee is currently training with Gilas Pilipinas as they continue their preparations for the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia this August.#GilasPilipinas

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— One Sports (@OneSportsPHL) July 14, 2025

“We will piecemeal it. Remember, we’ve had these guys in the past—June Mar, CJ, Calvin. They’re going to be in shape—in fact, probably over-shaped. When they return, they should already know what we’re doing. We’ll catch them up on anything new.

“But the bottom line is, this is why we’re not bringing in new guys. When the group is all together, they already understand the system and know each other. It’s all about moving forward—not starting and stopping. The system was designed to account for situations like this. In the meantime, we’ll continue to practice with our core and prepare as best we can,” Cone concluded.

Cone is set to lead daily practices this week as part of preparations for a tune-up game against the Macau Bears on July 28 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. This continues Gilas’ practice of scheduling warm-up matches ahead of international tournaments. Last year, they also faced the Taiwan Mustangs before competing in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Riga, Latvia.

Gilas Pilipinas has been drawn into Group D of the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup alongside Iraq, New Zealand, and Chinese Taipei. They will open their campaign against Chinese Taipei on August 6 and are expected to depart for Jeddah at the end of July or early August.

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