A lot has been said about how great the present-day Gilas Pilipinas has developed since head coach Tim Cone took over the helm this year. 

But just exactly how he intended it to be, with the program's emphasis on continuity, the building blocks for the future are also slowly being put into place.

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And the 94-53 win against Hong Kong gave the fans a glimpse of that future as the young guns in Kevin Quiambao, Carl Tamayo and Mason Amos all fully embraced the spotlight.

Tamayo shone the brightest with 16 points and five rebounds while Quiambao’s versatility was also on full display with eight points, five rebounds and four assists. Amos only had three points to his name but his ability to stretch and space the floor was evident.

“I won't stop saying this, they are the superstars of this team down the road, and they're still learning and feeling their way,” Cone said of his young guns who he expects to eventually grow as the team’s main guns in the future alongside Dwight Ramos, Kai Sotto and AJ Edu.

Seeing limited actions in the historic win over New Zealand, Cone is glad to see his younger players continue to strut their wares when their numbers are called.

“I think the one sitting next to me, Carl, I told him, he got out, he hit a three-point shot, he went to the basket, he had a post-up, he had an offensive rebound, those are all scores, and that's what we're looking for in our young guys. We want to use their total game,” Cone said.

“That's the case with him (Tamayo), that's the case with KQ, and even Mason,” added the veteran coach.

Cone admitted that there’s still a long way to go for his young players but that was exactly the purpose of the program – help them evolve into a complete player while also developing chemistry with the rest of the team.

“Mason is a specialist in terms of taking three-point shots but we're trying to get him to expand his game as well. I get on Carl hard, as he knows,” said Cone.

“We all come into the team with different habits, and so it's really trying to get us all on the same page and creating the same habits so we can all play together and read each other together. As we always keep saying, this is not an all-star team. We're not out there to showcase our individual skills, and we've got to come together as a team,” he added.