Chris Newsome a ‘luxury’ for Gilas, says Coach Tim Cone

Gilas coach Tim Cone could not help but marvel at Chris Newsome as the national team pulled off a 93-89 stunner against New Zealand in the second window of the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers on Thursday, Nov. 21.

Cone described the Meralco star as a luxury to have off the bench and a gem on the defensive end for the national team, which finally scored a win over the Tall Blacks in a FIBA competition after four losses.

[RELATED STORY: Gilas improves to 3-0, now a win away from FIBA Asia Cup; Australia, Japan score wins]

Despite being saddled by early foul trouble, Newsome still did a tremendous job on on both ends of the floor in the final minutes.

His job did not end when he sat on the bench, though.

“It was his job to sit on the bench for the first few minutes, check out theses guys and figure out how he will play him. He came out and played these guys really well,” said Cone of Newsome, who finished with 11 points, four rebounds, three assists, and two steals.

“I thought he was the one that really got us going defensively after our slow start.”

[ALSO READ: Justin Brownlee delivers as Gilas breaks New Zealand curse in FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers]

But his highlight came at the 1:09 mark of the fourth period when he launched the dagger of a triple before Justin Brownlee sealed the historic win with a pair of freebies with 11 ticks remaining.

“When New was able to come back, despite the four fouls, he was able to defend without fouling,” the seasoned mentor said.

“That’s the luxury of having a guy like that coming off the bench. We saw how good he was in the OQT as a starter.”

[ALSO READ: 'He's doing it all': Kai Sotto stars in Gilas Pilipinas' breakthrough win vs. New Zealand]

Newsome is expected to come out even better when Gilas looks to wrap up the second window unscathed against Hong Kong on Nov. 24.

Gilas currently sits atop Group B with a perfect 3-0 win-loss record.