Gilas Pilipinas' Asian Games run is pure magic.
All the odds were stacked against Gilas Pilipinas even before the Asian Games started.
Coming off a heartbreaking FIBA World Cup campaign, coach Tim Cone was tasked to handle an incomplete national team squad with only weeks before the meet. Gilas couldn't even form a squad right ahead and some of Cone's handpicked players including Calvin Abueva were not cleared to play. The national team also absorbed an early defeat in the group stage, forcing the boys in blue to play a do-or-die qualification match before securing a spot in the quarterfinals.
The path to the Asian Games gold was riddled with problems from the get-go. And yet, Gilas endured until the magic run happened.
Pilipinas survived a late-game collapse against Iran in the quarterfinals before completing an unlikely comeback against host nation and regional rival China in the semifinals. Then to complete the fairy tale run, Gilas avenged its group game loss to Jordan in the finals for the gold.
For Cone, Gilas played its best in the final match.
"I am not sure what to say. We played a great game tonight, we played our best game in the tournament tonight and I thought we had a beautiful defensive performance led by the gentleman next to me, Chris Newsome," Cone said in the post-game interview.
"Jordan had a tough shooting night, they didn’t shoot the ball that well and we took advantage of it."
Coach Tim perfectly encapsulates the historic stretch that brought back Asiad gold to the country.
"After beating Iran by a point, and finding a way to, that miraculous game against China by one point. It’s just like, unexplainable, the feelings that we all have at this point, seemingly coming from nowhere to win this gold medal," he said.
"We know it means so much to everyone back home. For us to able to do that to our countrymen was such a huge thing, we can’t wait to get home and share it with them when we get back."