Newly appointed Gilas Pilipinas interim head coach Tim Cone shared that he actually reached out to his predecessor Chot Reyes and got the blessing when he took on the job for the upcoming Asian Games.

Cone, who was part of Reyes’ coaching staff in the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup, shared that he was embarrassed to take the job after earlier stating that he won’t be taking the position Reyes vacated.

“I talked to Chot and you know, he gave me his blessing. I was the one most embarrassed because I didn't want to follow Chot and he gave me his blessing,” revealed Cone during the press conference where the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas and the PBA announced his appointment on Thursday, Sept. 7.

“He told me that he thought I was the best guy for the job. So let's give the confidence and step up you know, these guys have been behind me along the way,” he added while admitting that the vote of approval from Reyes, somehow, gave him the confidence that he could take the difficult and thankless job.

The PBA’s winningest coach revealed that even at the last minute, he was still reluctant to take the job if not for San Miguel Corporation CEO Ramon S. Ang personally asking him to lead the national team in the quadrennial meet.

“RSA and MVP (Manny V. Pangilinan), they also said really nice things so I just really feel everybody has my back on this,” said Cone.

“If everybody has my back, I feel there’s a chance we could succeed despite the fact that we’re only two weeks away, despite the fact we’re not going to have the intact team from the World Cup, which I felt had great chemistry towards the end,”  he added.

His appointment was so far from Cone’s mind after the World Cup that he was even joking around with players at how unlucky the next Gilas coach will be in the Asian games when it faces China which is surely eager to bounce back from the 96-75 loss at the hands of Gilas.

Little did he know though he would be the one succeeding Reyes at the helm.

“We are making jokes after the China game. We're saying 'Woah, to the next coach, you have to go to the Asian Games and play China after we beat their butts here in Manila'. And it turns out to be me,” said Cone, drawing laughter from the members of the press in attendance.

The serious work for Cone though begins right now as SBP and team manager Alfrancis Chua tries to form the final 12 before the Nationals formally hit the ground running on Monday, Sept. 11, in a closed door training at the Inspire Gym in Laguna.