PBA grand slam coach and Meralco consultant Norman Black has been tapped to handle the Gilas Pilipinas squad that will be defending the country’s Southeast Asian Games men’s basketball crown in Bangkok, Thailand this December.
The national team for the SEA Games though may not feature the same 12-man national side currently being handled by coach Tim Cone.
Cone, along with the rest of the Gilas Pilipinas contingent, left a few days ago for Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to compete in the FIBA Asia Cup 2025.
But given that the SEA Games calendar runs in conflict with the PBA’s Season 50 games, it is highly unlikely that the Gilas Pilipinas players under Cone will represent the country in the biennial games in Bangkok.
Last 30 July, the PBA board of governors, approved a limited number of players for the SEA Games campaign since the pro league’s games will be in progress by that month.
This scenario could mean the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas will form the Black-coached Philippine team that is a mixture of players coming from the PBA and the college ranks, particularly those from the UAAP and NCAA.
Naturalized players Justin Brownlee and Ange Kouame could possibly banner this team under Black’s guidance with the Philippines looking to establish a new basketball dominance in the region since just regaining the gold in Phnom Penh, Cambodia in 2023.
Black last handled the national coaching position when he led the Philippines to the SEA Games gold medal in 2011 in Jakarta, Indonesia. He also served as assistant to Robert Jaworski in the first-ever all pro national squad that captured the silver medal in the 1990 Asian Games in Beijing, China.
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