Naturalized big man Ange Kouame is unlikely to see action in Gilas Pilipinas’ two home games in the second window of the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers but head coach Tim Cone justified his inclusion to the 15-man pool, seeing him as a big part of the program in the long haul.

Being frank about the naturalized player situation, Cone said he is expecting Justin Brownlee to take on the spot in the two games against New Zealand and Hong Kong but that is not to say that Kouame is not equally valuable to the team.

In fact, Cone sees it that other way around. 

For one, Kouame remains a part of Gilas’ pool of naturalized players and having him immersed and accustomed to the system would allow him to be seamlessly plugged in and out of the lineup when the need arises in the future.

“We could only play one naturalized player at a time so the only person that he could play in place of is Justin Brownlee. I think it's really important because, if something, God forbid, knock on wood, happens to Justin then we would be able to bring in Ange,” said Cone.

“He would again know the system. He knows what we're asked of him. He'll be part of the preparation,” he added.

Kouame’s inclusion to the pool marked his return to the national team progam after last suiting up for the team a few years back under former head coach Tab Baldwin.

He’s currently one of Gilas naturalized players alongside Brownlee and Jordan Clarkson who last played in the World Cup but, mostly, wouldn’t be available for the Nationals due to the schedule of the NBA.

Gilas is still working on the naturalization of former San Miguel Beer import Bennie Boatwright and keeping Kouame as a backup would give the Nationals a lot of flexibility.

“It's important to have him be a part of the program as much as possible as that backup as we wait for Bennie Boatwright to go through the process of his naturalization and whatever needs to be done,” said Cone

“Ange is just very important to us and we need him there so he can be ready to step in immediately if necessary plus, he's one of the few guys that can throw a body at June Mar and get June Mar ready for playing against bigger players,” explained Cone.