Barangay Ginebra head coach Tim Cone will be joining the coaching staff of the Gilas Pilipinas men’s national basketball team.

Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas program director and Gilas head coach Chot Reyes announced the surprise development during the 2022 PBA Press Corp Awards Night on Tuesday.

Cone is the PBA’s most successful head coach with 24 championships to his name. He has also served as the head coach of the Centennial Team that competed in the 1998 Asian Games, and the gold-medal-winning Gilas squad that ruled the 30th Southeast Asian Games in Manila.

Cone’s presence will no doubt bolster Gilas’ think tank, which already has former New Zealand mentor Nenad Vucinic as consultant and interim head coach. It remains unclear, though, when Cone will assume his position with Gilas given that Ginebra is in the thick of the current PBA Philippine Cup tournament.

Gilas, meanwhile, is preparing for the third window of the 2023 FIBA World Cup Asian qualifiers on June 30 in Auckland and then on July 3 at the Mall of Asia Arena. The 2022 FIBA Asia is also looming next month in Indonesia.

Cone’s inclusion in Gilas comes after top officials of the San Miguel Corporation led by Ramon S. Ang, and the MVP group headed by Manny V. Pangilinan met face to face and agreed to work together for Gilas and the country’s hosting of the 2023 FIBA World Cup.