All hands will be on deck for Gilas Pilipinas as head coach Tim Cone finally gets his wish to have twin towers Kai Sotto and AJ Edu in the fold once the Nationals convene for the second window of the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers on Friday, Nov. 15, at the Inspire Sports Academy in Laguna.

For the first time since naming his Gilas pool, Cone will finally have the Gilas twin towers together to join June Mar Fajardo in forming the tallest Gilas frontcourt ever assembled.

Scottie Thompson is also expected to make his return to the national team duty after missing the FIBA Olympic Qualifying tournament in Latvia, joining CJ Perez, Dwight Ramos and Chris Newsome at the point guard spot.

Justin Brownlee will continue to man the wings along with Calvin Oftana, Carl Tamayo, Kevin Quiambao. The still recovering Jamie Malonzo was also named into the pool although one of the reserves in Japeth Aguilar and Mason Amos is likely to take his spot.

Naturalized player Ange Kouame, who is currently playing for the Meralco Bolts in the East Asia Super League, is also a recent addition to the pool.

With the composition of the pool, Cone gets some sort of flexibility in forming the lineup in the games against New Zealand on Nov. 21 and Hong Kong on Nov. 24, both at Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

Cone has long expressed his desire of finally having Edu on board especially with his defensive abilities that should bode well to the national team’s system. The 6-foot-11 Fil-Nigerian, however, was not available during the first window as well as the OQT due to a nagging knee injury.

Edu has returned to action since then and has been playing well for Nagasaki Velca in the Japan B. League, averaging 6.6 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.8 blocks in 26.2 minutes through 15 games.

Sotto, for his part, has taken his game a notch higher in his return to the B.League with the Koshigaya Alphas, scattering 12.1 points, 9.2 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.3 blocks through 15 games.

He did not play in the Alphas last game due to concussion protocols but he is expected to suit up for the national team.

Sotto and Edu, along with Ramos who also plays in the B.League, and Tamayo, who suits up for the Changwon LG Sakers in the Korean Basketball League, are expected to arrive in the country within the week.

Kouame and Brownlee, on the other hand, are seen to share the workload during the window, with the latter poised to play against the Kiwis while the former set to suit up against Hong Kong.