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Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Basketball devider Loss to Chinese Taipei ruined Gilas' Asia Cup game plan, admits Cone

Loss to Chinese Taipei ruined Gilas' Asia Cup game plan, admits Cone

Published Aug 17, 2025 08:54 am  |  Updated Aug 17, 2025 01:00 pm

At A Glance

  • Reflecting on their performance in the continental tournament, Cone said they knew that a victory to the Taiwanese would not only prevent them from an early collision course with two-time defending champion Australia, but would give them an easier route in the knockout stages.
Gilas Pilipinas head coach Tim Cone admitted the 95-87 opening game loss to Chinese Taipei defined the team’s campaign in the 2025 FIBA  Asia Cup.
Reflecting on their performance in the continental tournament, Cone said they knew that a victory to the Taiwanese would not only prevent them from an early collision course with two-time defending champion Australia, but would give them an easier route in the knockout stages.
Instead, they were forced to take a more difficult path, which gradually drained their energy and eroded their confidence. The Nationals ultimately settled for a seventh-place finish after being thoroughly outclassed by the Boomers in an 84-60 quarterfinal defeat.
“We knew this going into the tournament. We talked about it from the first moment we met. That the Chinese Taipei game would be the most important game of the tournament. We just came out too gigil giving up 36 free throws and that was the killer,“ said Cone.
“We didn't play the defense we expected to play. And that got us on our heels for the whole rest of the tournament. It really knocked our confidence off,“ he added.
Gilas wound up with a 2-3 record in tie with Lebanon, which finished ninth after losing to New Zealand. Chinese Taipei ended up fifth, with South Korea at sixth.
Following the loss to Chinese Taipei, the woes only piled up for the Nationals, who struggled to get off to strong starts in nearly every game except for the qualification match against Saudi Arabia.
Gilas fell behind early against New Zealand and eventually succumbed to a 95-86 defeat. A similar slow start also haunted them against Iraq, though they managed to grind out a 66-57 win.
They then narrowly escaped a vastly improved Saudi Arabia squad, 95-88, to earn a quarterfinal clash with Australia.
“We just didn’t play as well as  I hoped. We didn't play within the vision. I guess that is the best way to put it,“ said Cone.
“We had a vision on how we are supposed to play and we didn't quite develop the discipline that we needed to play in that stage and that was, to me, the disappointing thing,“ he added.
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