At A Glance
- The newest addition to the national team pool made quite an impression and provided one of the silver linings for the Nationals in the winless road trip Down Under in the third window of the 2027 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers.
Safe to say, Mike Phillips is in for the long haul in the Gilas Pilipinas program.
The newest addition to the national team pool made quite an impression and provided one of the silver linings for the Nationals in the winless road trip Down Under in the third window of the 2027 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers.
Getting more playing time in the absence of Justin Brownlee in the 92-49 loss to Australia, Phillips displayed the energy, hustle and enthusiasm he can provide for the national team.
“He was one of the bright lights for us tonight. He was doing great, especially in the first half. He was rebounding the heck out of the ball. And just playing. His nickname is ‘Motor Mike’ and there’s a reason for that,” Cone said of the 24-year-old player
“He plays with such a tremendous motor. And he’s all over the floor.”
Phillips even had two thunderous dunks for Gilas against Australia and collared 12 rebounds to go with his six points.
The performance of the former La Salle player came after the young guns of Gilas showed up in the 106-102 loss to New Zealand. Carl Tamayo, Kevin Quiambao and Juan Gomez de Liano shone in the third window for Gilas — giving the Nationals something to look forward to in the fourth window in August.
“He’s a young guy and he plays with so much enthusiasm. He’s very, very infectious and tonight it was less visible because of the score,” said Cone.
“But I think that’s just something that our fans are going to really appreciate as we move forward, watching him play with that kind of effort, and then watching the other guys get infected by it and continuing to play.”