After a tough end to the qualifiers, Gilas Pilipinas turn their attention to the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 proper slated for August in Saudi Arabia.
Gilas Pilipinas are on a bit of a rough patch, losing four straight games this month from the Doha International Cup to the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers.
Fortunately, all these losses don’t mean much in terms of record, but the lessons learned could prove pivotal as Gilas takes on the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 proper later this year.
“These windows are so short,” coach Tim Cone said in the aftermath of Gilas’ 87-70 loss to end the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers.
“Everything we do, it’s a cumulative experience. We're trying to take each window as an experience and move it on to the next one and onto the next one and hopefully grow it and improve,” he added.
The Philippines’ swept the first two windows of these Asia Cup Qualifiers, an effort enough to get the national team to the main tournament in Saudi Arabia in August.
However, Gilas got shutout in the third and final window, losing two road games to Chinese Taipei and New Zealand.
Against the Tall Blacks Sunday, the Philippines endured a flat start, with New Zealand jumping to a 30-15 lead after one.
While Gilas had a mini uprising in the fourth quarter, New Zealand led by as many as 28 points and cruised to victory.
“They gave us a smash-mouth in the first quarter and we just never really recovered,” Cone said.
“We were just playing off on our heels the whole game just trying to recover from that early barrage. We had our opportunities but we just couldn’t make a big shot,” he added.
Tohi Smith-Milner led all scorers with 25 points for New Zealand, going 5/10 from three-point range.
For Gilas Pilipinas, Chris Newsome was the high man with 13 points. However, Justin Brownlee only managed 10, cooling off after a 39-point explosion against Chinese Taipei earlier this week.
June Mar Fajardo had 11 points, while AJ Edu added seven points and 15 rebounds.
The Philippines ended the Asia Cup Qualifiers with a 4-2 record, good for second place in Group B behind the 5-1 Tall Blacks.