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Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Basketball devider Cone laments Gilas guards 'struggled under pressure' after loss to Australia

Cone laments Gilas guards 'struggled under pressure' after loss to Australia

Published Jul 7, 2026 03:53 pm

At A Glance

  • Gilas Pilipinas head coach Tim Cone did not mince words and admitted that his guards simply struggled under pressure after the Nationals failed to execute on the offensive end against the stifling Australia's defense.

Gilas Pilipinas head coach Tim Cone did not mince words and admitted that his guards simply struggled under pressure after the Nationals failed to execute on the offensive end against the stifling Australia’s defense.

“Our point guards struggled tonight. They struggled under pressure,” said Cone after the Filipinos committed 19 turnovers against the Boomers.

Australia converted the errors into 30 turnover points and 20 fastbreak points.

Juan Gomez de Liano, who exploded for 23 points in the first game against New Zealand, was limited to just seven, while RJ Abarrientos was held scoreless and with just one assist after dishing out seven in the last game.

Making matters worse, Gomez de Liano, Abarrientos and Chris Newsome had eight of the team’s total turnovers among themselves — some even happening in the backcourt when the Boomers forced them to backcourt violations and errant passes.

“We couldn't get into our offense, they did such a great job of defending we had one good quarter, second quarter but really just having trouble just getting the ball past halfcourt and getting into something,” commented Cone.

“Credit to their defense and that keyed their transition game, their ability to hit the three point shots and they just kinda snowballed on us,” he added.

After a lethargic start that saw Gilas trail, 12-30, Filipinos took the fight within striking distance and limited the Boomers to just eight points in the following minutes.

But the Boomers tightened up their defensive screws, further suffocating a Gilas team that was already missing the services of its one of best offensive players in Justin Brownlee.

“We felt the second quarter, we were defending well, they weren’t hitting shots as well but we also weren’t fouling but then started the second half, (we) made some early errors stretched that lead right back to 20-22 within the first minute or two of the third quarter,” Cone pointed out.

“I think we just kinda lost heart at that time,” he added. 

Related Tags

Gilas Pilipinas Tim Cone Juan Gomez de Liano RJ Abarrientos
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