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Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Basketball devider Cone glad to be finally on the winning side of another cardiac finish

Cone glad to be finally on the winning side of another cardiac finish

Published Aug 29, 2026 10:45 am  |  Updated Aug 29, 2026 02:27 pm

At A Glance

  • The Nationals had to go through a wringer to pull off a nerve-wracking 82-81 victory over Jordan and, more importantly, give its World Cup hopes a huge shot in the arm in the 2027 FIBA World Cup Asian qualifiers.

Gilas Pilipinas head coach Tim Cone heaved a sigh of relief as the Nationals avoided suffering the same heartbreak it had in the previous window.

The Nationals had to go through a wringer to pull off a nerve-wracking 82-81 victory over Jordan and, more importantly, give its World Cup hopes a huge shot in the arm in the 2027 FIBA World Cup Asian qualifiers.

Gilas improved to 3-4, keeping their Top 3 hopes alive in Group E after surviving the Falcons in a game that had Cone recalling the pain of the Nationals’ 102-106 double-overtime loss to New Zealand in the last window.

“It was fantastic. It was fun to be a part of. It was fun to be on this side of it, winning,” said Cone.

“I know how tough it is against New Zealand. We were on the other side of it in the overtime game and losing this really, really, important qualifier so it’s good to be on this side of it,” he added.

Gilas lost to the Tall Blacks on the road in the July window with Juan Gomez de Liaño delivering the big hits down the stretch. The Nationals were even one stop away from pulling off the upset but just couldn’t get the defensive break against the Kiwis in that game.

That was also looking to be the case in the game against Jordan when Kevin Quiambao put Gilas up with a big triple down the stretch but the Falcons forced the Nationals to crucial turnovers in the waning seconds.

The difference, however, this time was Gilas had its towering center Kai Sotto to anchor the defensive stand. Sotto rejected what could have been a go-ahead layup for Jordan’s Abdullah Olajuwon as the game clock expired.

“I felt we had them on the ropes a few times. I feel we were ready to zoom off but turnover here and there kept them in the game and then we had to go down the stretch and come down to defense,” said Cone.

“Kai came out and made the huge block in the end to win it for us.”

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