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Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Basketball devider Sweet sweep of fourth window makes Cone 'the happiest guy'

Sweet sweep of fourth window makes Cone 'the happiest guy'

Published Aug 31, 2026 11:15 am

At A Glance

  • Gilas Pilipinas head coach Tim Cone just couldn't hide his elation after the Nationals pulled off what they initially believed an improbable task of sweeping the fourth window of the 2027 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers against Iran and Jordan.

Gilas Pilipinas head coach Tim Cone just couldn’t hide his elation after the Nationals pulled off what they initially believed an improbable task of sweeping the fourth window of the 2027 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers against Iran and Jordan.

Gilas hacked out a pulsating 82-81 escape against Jordan and then clamped down on world No. 26 Iran, 68-56, to improve the Nationals' record to 4-4, just a game behind their victims who are now on the third and fourth spots.

“I’m almost lost for words. That’s really unusual for me. I’m not usually lost for words. But I’m extremely happy,” said Cone during the post-game press conference.

“Kai just walked in (and asked), ‘Are you the happiest guy in the world?’ Because I said earlier, if we can win these two games, I’ll be the happiest guy in the world. So right now, I’m the happiest guy in the world,” he added.

Playing without a naturalized player and with their World Cup fates hanging in the balance, Gilas showed steely nerves and unwavering resolve to complete the two-game home stand before a roaring crowd which braved through the rainy weekend to watch the team.

The team also had to overcome two slow starts in the contests before digging deep and doing the game-winning plays when it mattered the most.

“These are two really, really high-level international teams, Iran, especially. I read something in FIBA yesterday that this is only the third win we’ve had against them in the last 13 games,” said Cone

“And we were able to do it all-Filipino pa. So it makes it really sweet to come out and win this game. And to do it at home,” he added.

Gilas’ win over Iran is the team’s first win over the Middle East powerhouse in a FIBA-sanctioned tournament since 2015.

Gilas also got several highlight performances from some of its players with CJ Perez and Kevin Quiambao spearheading the overtime win over Jordan, and Dwight Ramos and Juan Gomez de Liaño sparking the fourth-quarter pullaway against Iran.

Kai Sotto was in his usual dominant form in the two games while AJ Edu remains the defensive lynchpin the Nationals can rely on.

"It was one of those slow starts that we had but the guys just kept fighting and fighting and getting back into the game, and we came into halftime, we felt pretty good about ourselves. I think we felt we could pull this out,” said Cone.

“Just a great character performance by these guys in both games. To have that overtime game. It’s easy to kind of let down coming into this one [against Iran]. But they all knew the importance of it. They all knew the importance it was for them, and for the country,” he added.

"They came out and played and it was fun to be part of it. Really a lot of fun to be a part of it,” Cone furthered.

Related Tags

Gilas Pilipinas Tim Cone Kai Sotto FIBA
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