Gilas Pilipinas head coach Tim Cone admits in hindsight that it was a tough trip for Gilas Pilipinas as they went 0-2 in the final window of FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers.
There was a lot of personal lessons learned for Gilas Pilipinas head coach Tim Cone, as he absorbed the brunt of the blame when the national team suffered back-to-back losses in the final window of the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers this month.
The Nationals fell unceremoniously flat to end the ACQ after previously going into the window undefeated.
[RELATED: Gilas Pilipinas fall flat vs New Zealand to end FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers]
Though already qualified for the Asia Cup later this year, the trip was a rough patch for the team, as they suffered a rare loss against Chinese Taipei before being drubbed by New Zealand in their final game of the window.
Gilas also came out with just one win in a set of friendlies in Doha, which dragged the Philippines into a four-game losing streak abridging the friendlies and the final window of Qualifiers.
Returning to Manila, Cone said that it seemed that their build-up was “a little bit too much” which caused them to wane in the games that mattered more.
“This is a really really tough trip and we used it as prep for August. Honestly it was a little bit too much force, that's on me, that's my fault, I was the one that designed this trip.” Cone told News5’s Nina Ongpauco.
“It was just really hard — the travel, 10-hour flights, the change in time, it’s just really really tough. We weren't at our full capacity when we played Taiwan and New Zealand,” he added.
Cone earlier explained that the Doha tournament was meant to simulate three straight game days in a Middle Eastern country, to prepare Gilas for a hectic FIBA Asia Cup schedule.
Still, it was better for the national team to experience the bump in the road ahead of the Asia Cup in August, where more will be at stake.
[ALSO READ: Dwight Ramos on Gilas Pilipinas' latest string of losses: 'It's good that we got humbled']
After a humbling experience in their last stretch of preparations, Cone hopes to be more prepared and well-rested when they go up against the region’s best in the FIBA Asia Cup.
“Obviously this is something that I personally learned from, in terms of… We will be a bit more careful, make sure we don’t exhaust ourselves in getting ready for FIBA Asia Cup.” said Cone.
Cone and company will have a better visual of their foes for the FIBA Asia Cup set in Saudi Arabia when the draw happens on April 8 in Jeddah.
[ALSO READ: 'Cumulative experience' for Gilas Pilipinas as focus shifts to actual FIBA Asia Cup 2025]
(With reports from News5/Nina Ongpauco)