MANILA, Philippines — While newly-acquired big man Isaac Go has been traded to Barangay Ginebra a week ago, coach Tim Cone said it doesn’t follow that the former Ateneo standout could find himself playing for Gilas Pilipinas.

No, at least, not yet.

Cone explained that while Go, at 6-foot-7, plays the 4 or even 5 spot in the PBA, his size doesn’t necessarily mean he could compete when ranged against 6-foot-10, 6-foot-11 or even seven-footers in the world basketball stage.

“You’ll never know. Isaac Go is a big man at 6-7 in the PBA but he’s not a big man in the world stage,” Cone said matter-of-factly. “You can’t take his level and take him to Europe and make him play against 6-10, 6-11 guys there. He’s gonna be overwhelmed because he’s not big man.”

The idea of potentially seeing Go play for Gilas was due to the fact that the 28-year-old incoming Ginebra center/forward played for the Philippine team a few years back.

In that tournament, he played six games, averaging 3.7 points and 4.3 rebounds.

Go also played as a back up big man during the 31st Southeast Asian Games men’s basketball in 2022 where Gilas settled for silver after bowing to Indonesia in the finals.

Cone recognized Go’s contributions in past Gilas campaigns, but he also believes that unless the former Ateneo player shifts to playing the wing position, his effectivity rate might not be high when he faces 6-11 or seven-footers.

“If Isaac can learn how to play the wing and play small forward with his body, maybe he can play at the world stage, but he can’t play the 5 at the world stage,” he said.

“That’s something we need to understand. Unless he’s a wing (player), like a Justin (Brownlee) or like a Carl Tamayo. But even Carl at 6-8, he can’t play 5 at the world stage. So when we’re looking for big guys to play at Gilas, we’re looking for big guys.”

In the meantime, Go is expected to thrive and add outside shooting for his new team Ginebra beginning in the PBA’s Season 49.

Go had a breakout year in Season 48 with Terrafirma after seeing him average PBA career-highs of 8.8 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.2 assists, while making over 36 percent from three-point zone.

His solid contributions made him a key factor in Terrafirma’s playoff stint in the Philippine Cup, beating powerhouse and top seed San Miguel once in the quarterfinals, before bowing to the league’s all-time winningest squad in their knockout game.

Go, along with Stephen Holt was eventually, traded by Terrafirma to Ginebra just a day before the 2024 PBA Rookie draft.