Cone, the winningest coach in PBA history, emerged as the top choice as he has both the respect of the entire basketball community in the Philippines and the chops to form a team into a cohesive unit in only a few weeks.
"I spoke to Tim Cone last Saturday and he expressed interested but wanted to finish his game last night and talk to his family first," Panlilio said in a statement.
"Now I'm very happy to announce that coach Tim has officially accepted the role as head coach for Gilas Pilipinas Men in the upcoming SEA Games," he added.
Panlilio added that he respected Cone's decision to talk to his family first as he knows the sacrifices Cone's family will have to make because of the massive responsibility.
Cone acknowledged that while his appointment was a "stopgap measure and a short-term commitment," he is still honored to be chosen as the Gilas head coach for the SEA Games.
"I'm very happy to help in any way," said Cone, who previously called the shots for the Philippine team that competed in the 1998 Asian Games.
"I will sit down with the SBP over the next couple of days and come up with a plan of attack in terms of preparation, and we're hoping by the end of the week, we'll have a pool of players working together at full force," he added.
"I'm extremely excited to get going," Cone also said.
Panlilio said Cone was already given the go-ahead by San Miguel Corporation president Ramon S. Ang and sports director Alfrancis Chua.
"The resolution of our head coach situation should signify the start of our SEA Games preparations because the other countries like Indonesia are already putting in the work," said Panlilio.
The SBP president made it clear that the arrangement is only for the SEA Games, which the country will host in November and December.
"We're still putting together a plan on how to move forward with our preparations for 2023 and beyond," he said.
The composition of the team and Cone's coaching staff will be discussed soon.
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