Gilas Pilipinas during the Fiba Asia Cup 2025 qualifying match against Hong Kong at the Mall of Asia Arena. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
Gilas Pilipinas has secured a spot in the Fiba Asia Cup and will have to play two more games in the third qualifying window in February next year before the main tournament in Saudi Arabia.
These will not be insignificant games for national coach Tim Cone as he looks ahead to both games just as he did to the clash against winless Hong Kong at the Mall of Asia Arena the night before.
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“The two away games we will have in February will be the hardest part. Two strong teams and both on the move. “It will be a heavy burden for us (but) we’re looking forward to the challenge,” Cone said of the return games against Chinese Taipei and New Zealand shortly after the 93-54 loss to Hong Kong late Sunday night.
It might seem that there is nothing left at stake for the Philippines. Gilas officially secured a place in the Fiba Asia Cup on Monday afternoon after New Zealand beat Chinese Taipei 81-64 in Christchurch.
But Cone has long-term goals. And having competed in the World Cup at home, the Grand Slam coach knows how difficult it is to achieve success away from home.
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“We had one opportunity to play at home in the 2023 World Cup. But now everyone (games) will be on the road. So we have to learn to play well away from home,” he said.
“The whole point of these windows is to get better – to take the experience we had in these windows and add it to the experience we had in the (Olympic qualifiers). “Hopefully that elevates our game going into the next window, which is away now, and it’s going to be important for us to learn that because we need to learn how to play away and win on the road.”
Randomly
The approach will prepare the Nationals not only for the Asian Cup in Jeddah, but also for future Fiba tournaments where the stakes are much higher. Ultimately, Cone built the squad based on the idea that the Philippines would return to the World Cup and hopefully qualify for the Summer Olympics, next held in Los Angeles.
Gilas actually looked to make good use of that opportunity as it faced off again against a Hong Kong team they had beaten by 30 points in their last game. Instead of the veterans creating an early rift to give the younger players a chance to enjoy, it was the latter who helped the Nationals prevail for the loss, which happened to become an exercise for the players’ tendencies.
“We all come into the team with different habits, and so it’s really trying to get us all on the same page and develop the same habits so we can all play together and read each other,” Cone said.
Keep the pool intact
Carl Tamayo was the star of this performance, finishing the game with a team-best 16 points and five rebounds to bounce back from a mediocre game against New Zealand. After missing the win over the Tall Blacks, Kevin Quiambao contributed eight goals, five rebounds and four assists. Mason Amos also scored a three-pointer to seal the win for the Filipinos, who were flawless in four games and two windows.
“He came out, he shot a 3-pointer, he went to the basket, he had a post-up, he had an offensive rebound … and that’s what we’re looking for for our young guys,” Tamayo’s Cone said. “We want to utilize their entire game, and that’s the case with him, that’s the case with KQ and even with Mason.”
“I won’t stop saying this, they are the superstars of this team in the future and they are still learning and feeling their way,” he added.
“And so this is not, as we always say, not an All-Star team. We’re not out there to show off our individual skills, we have to come together as a team and sometimes it takes hard coaching and that’s what I love about this team. They really embrace that idea and it makes this team a lot easier to deal with from a coaching perspective.”
Cone did not dismiss the possibility of a future overhaul of the talent pool. But that’s something he’s not keen on, especially after making huge strides with this crew this year.
“I’m less likely to want to expand the pool. I think the more you expand the pool, the more lessons you have to do,” he said. “When you start expanding the pool, you have to go back to square one and reteach everything you taught.”
“It’s better if we can tighten up… Everything will be assessed by the end of the year. But hopefully everyone – all the supervisors – are happy with what’s going on and want to maintain a continuous program,” the veteran mentor said.
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“We could easily tweak here and there, anything that could make us better in the future.” INQ