In a unified voice, members of Gilas Pilipinas and Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas officials declared their commitment to Tim Cone’s four-year program that they hope will end with a ticket to the Olympics.

“Our goal is to make the Olympics, whether in Paris (this year) or LA (Los Angeles) in four years,” coach Tim Cone said in a press conference with SBP president Al Panlilio, executive director Erika Dy and the 12 players he handpicked for this journey at the PhilSports Arena yesterday.

“And we do that by qualifying via the OQT or being the best Asian team in the FIBA World Cup and to do that, we have to qualify for the World Cup and to do that, we have to qualify for the FIBA Asia Cup. It’s all a progression.”

Cone and the Gilas 12 take the first step in the first window of the Asia Cup Qualifiers, where they’ll face Hong Kong on the road on Thursday and Chinese-Taipei at home on Sunday.

“Exciting times for the program, a lot of things to look forward to. If we can keep these 12 players together for the next four years, we can see how we progress every tournament we compete in,” said Panlilio.

By batches of four, the Nationals faced the press and were unequivocal in expressing their excitement. Then they held an open practice session for fans.

“When coach Tim Cone gave me a call and asked me to be part of the next Gilas, I told him, ‘I’m all in,’ especially after our Asian Games (golden) stint,” said Chris Newsome. “It’s nice to run it back and see what we can do, especially with young guys coming up. It’s going to be a great journey to be witnessing the future.”

Dwight Ramos, a fixture in many Gilas iterations, said continuity is integral to this current program.

“I think it’s a good idea to keep everybody the same. Of course, there’s a thing that comes like if someone gets hurt, they’re going to get a replacement. But to keep mostly the same players every time, it just helps you build from window to window and the chemistry’s always going to be there,” he said.

“It’s a good idea and we’re going to make it work for the next four years.”