MANILA -- Tim Cone hopes to create an intact Gilas Pilipinas squad that will play together for the next four years, regardless of the competition.

Cone shared his vision for the national team at the sidelines of the Philippine Sportswriters Association Awards Night on Monday at the Diamond Hotel, just hours after the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas officially named him as Gilas head coach.

The multi-titled mentor has already picked a 12-man lineup, which he says will "stay together and play every window."

"We wanna keep this team intact because every time we play, we either will grow from the success or the failure that we have," said Cone. "[In] any kind of a basketball team, where you keep a team together as much as you can, and you try to get them to learn, through failures and successes."

"There will be some tweaks along the way, but the idea is to keep an intact core that understands the system," he added.

• Meet the new Gilas Pilipinas coached by Tim Cone
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Cone said he was given encouragement by San Miguel Corp. sports director Alfrancis Chua to take on the role, with the understanding that he also has the backing of SMC head honcho Ramon S. Ang. 

Their first order of business will be to prepare for the first window of the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 qualifiers that will take place in February. 

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