Gilas Pilipinas share their personal takeaways following the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament.
Gilas Pilipinas have finally returned to the Philippines following their historical run in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Riga, Latvia.
In Riga, Gilas successfully ended a 64-year drought against European teams after an upset win against world no. 6 Latvia, 89-80.
While their Olympic chapter for Paris 2024 may have closed prematurely following their tough loss against world no. 12 Brazil in the semifinals, Gilas Pilipinas have found solace in the valuable lessons they have learned through the adversity of trying to catch a last-minute bus to the Olympics.
Photo © FIBA
Falling short of reaching the Olympics this time, Gilas Pilipinas head coach Tim Cone remains optimistic after the realization that the Philippine team can compete against the tall and experienced squads from Europe, his spirit lifted by the fact that their efforts had not been in vain.
“Sayang, we lost Kai, but the takeaway, I guess, is that we know we can play with these strong European teams, and we feel we have a lot of room to still get better, and every tournament we play now we expect to get better, and it’s just a matter of whether we can keep our health,” said coach Tim.
[Related: GUTS AND GLORY | 'Dinosaur' Tim Cone will never let the Triangle go extinct]
Losing Kai Sotto was definitely a huge setback for Gilas in the OQT. The 7-foot-3 center was hospitalized after his bad fall in the second quarter of their group phase match against Georgia, causing him to have a rib injury. While his x-rays and scans were found negative for a fracture, he still had to sit out in their semifinal match against Brazil.
“Losing Kai in this tournament was tough; losing Scottie [Thompson], AJ Edu, and Jamie [Malonzo] before the tournament even started was very tough for us,” Cone added, as Gilas likewise faced injury problems before making the trip to Latvia.
Setting aside the setbacks, the PBA's winningest coach continues to move forward. He already has his sights set on the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers which resume in November.
“Bottom line is, we didn’t get it done, but we are looking forward to the next trip in November and our next tournament in November,” he emphasized.
Photo © FIBA
Meanwhile, despite the agony of sitting out in the semifinals due to injury, Gilas star Kai Sotto has gained a newfound perspective in his most recent international basketball tour of duty.
“Okay naman. It’s such an amazing experience para sa akin at para sa lahat,” the 22-year-old big man said.
He also remained resolute and hopeful, as he is expected to recover soon from his injury.
“Mga 1-2 weeks pa siguro bago ako maging okay," said Sotto on his injury update.
Photo © FIBA
Elsewhere on the team, Kevin Quiambao, who referred to himself as the “locker room guy," remains grateful for the team and the experience they had despite mostly playing the role of a reserve this time out.
“Sobrang laking experience kahit na hindi ako ganun nagagamit pero ayun nga, locker room guy,” Quiambao shared.
“Kaya namin sumabay sa Europe teams. Ayun ang pinaka-biggest learning experience,” he added.
[Related: After tough end to FIBA OQT campaign, Chris Newsome focuses on "big picture" with Gilas Pilipinas]
Gilas Pilipinas will look to utilize this growth experience in the November window of the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers against New Zealand on November 21, followed by a showdown against Hong Kong on November 24 in the Philippines.
(With reports from Ian Suyu/News5)