Gone were the days when the social media burst with fury after a Gilas game. Gone also was when the coach was the object of ridicule during and after the contest. For a change, the team is no longer being called out for what many believed an obsolete system that is no longer effective on the international stage.

What’s the difference? Easy, they’re winning games.

The Nationals went beyond the expectations in the first window of the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers.

Gilas was expected to win two games but how easy and dominant they did it was the biggest surprise.

The offense was fluid. The passing was crisp and the defense was rock-solid.

And Gilas managed to do all of that in just seven days of preparation time while also missing two-thirds of its towering frontline in June Mar Fajardo and AJ Edu.

Tim Cone’s era at Gilas just showed what wonders it can do if there were less drama and everybody bought into the system. Everybody was happy and as a result, the fans were equally ecstatic.

“I think they all had a great time. It took a lot of work in Inspire Camp. We didn’t play well against Hong Kong in the first half and that kind of throws game jitters. But since that first half, we’ve played the way we envisioned in terms of being a defensive team first and sharing the ball, and having the big guy dominate for us,” said Cone.

Numbers backed the changes that had been seen with Gilas. The Nationals, as expected, routed Hong Kong, 94-64 but their rousing 106-53 win over Chinese Taipei was testament to the positive change.

The 53-point win was the biggest margin of Gilas against the Taiwanese – a team that historically has given the Filipino a run for their money every time they face off.

The Nationals shared the wealth in the first two games recording 33 assists in the 37 field goals against Hong Kong and 30 assists in 36 field goals against Chinese Taipei. 

Defense was certainly not being left behind, limiting their opponents to a measly 58.5 points while only allowing them to shoot 31.25 percent from the field and forcing them to 13.5 turnovers.

"I really like the way we played tonight. We just really worked hard on both sides of the floor and did that throughout the whole game, 40 minutes,” said Cone.

Kai Sotto looked good on both ends of the floor, listing averages of 15.5 points, 12.5 rebounds and 2.5 blocks. Justin Brownlee was also only getting his rhythm back with 21 points, 10 rebounds and six assists.

And then there were the other young guns in Carl Tamayo and Kevin Quiambao along with mainstays in CJ Perez, Chris Newsome, Dwight Ramos and Scottie Thompson.

While Gilas is barely scratching the surface of its potential, Cone was once again quick to temper expectations for the team.

"Make no mistake: we have a long way to go. This was a pretty game tonight. We didn't go out there to put on a show and show how good we are. We just wanted to go out there and work. It just turned out that way. But we also realize we have a lot of work ahead of us and a long way to go,” he added.