Almost but not quite for Gilas Pilipinas as head coach Tim Cone bared that the Philippines just couldn’t get over the hump” against New Zealand in their FIBA Asia Cup 2025 encounter.
Gilas Pilipinas head coach Tim Cone admitted he did not expect his team to start 0-2 in the FIBA Asia Cup 2025.
Despite a standout 37-point performance by Justin Brownlee, the Philippines fell short in their comeback attempt against New Zealand that ended in a 94-86 loss and pushed the Filipinos to the brink of elimination.
“We’re disappointed that we lost two in a row. I don’t think any of us saw that coming,” Cone said in the postgame press conference.
With the loss, Gilas Men face fellow winless team Iraq in their Group D finale on Saturday, August 9, a must-win game to keep their hopes of qualifying for the quarterfinals alive.
[ALSO READ: Gilas Pilipinas figure in must-win game vs Iraq with FIBA Asia Cup 2025 survival at stake]
Despite the setback, Cone expressed optimism about his team's chances.
“The tournament’s not over for us. We have a big game against Iraq coming up, and we’ll see if we can get into the next round,” the 67-year-old mentor insisted.
Gilas struggled early, falling behind by 19 points in the first quarter and entered halftime down 55-41.
However, they found a spark in the third quarter, with Dwight Ramos scoring 10 points to pump life back to the squad.
Brownlee’s three-pointer with 3:48 left trimmed the deficit to 85-82, but New Zealand answered with two baskets from Taylor Britt, including a layup off a costly Ramos turnover.
Tohi Smith-Milner extended the Tall Blacks’ lead to 90-82 with 1:23 remaining. And though Brownlee had a chance to close the gap with an and-one opportunity, he missed the free throw to keep it 90-84.
“We’re obviously struggling in the first half, but when we came back, I thought we really played a good second half. We just couldn’t get over the hump,” Cone bared.
He added: “We had a couple of turnovers down the stretch that prevented us from really making the game tight.”
[ALSO READ: Tim Cone, Gilas focus on mental adjustments after dropping to 0-2 in FIBA Asia Cup]
Looking ahead to the must-win game against Iraq, Cone reminded his team to stay focused.
“We just need to keep battling, keep our heads up. We can’t dwell on these last two losses. There’s still more to do, and we’ll be ready for our next game,” he said.
A victory over Iraq will secure third place in Group D for the Philippines, setting up a crossover playoff against the second-place team from Group C for a spot in the quarterfinals.
[ALSO READ: SCHEDULE, RESULTS | Gilas Pilipinas compete at 2025 FIBA Asia Cup]