The Australian Boomers imposed their superiority early on and went on to deal Gilas Pilipinas a tough beating in the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 quarterfinals.
The disparity between Gilas Pilipinas and world No. 7 team Australian Boomers was evident Wednesday night, Aug. 13 (Manila time).
Just ask head coach Tim Cone.
“Well, we tried to do some things, but it didn’t work for us,” said Cone after the Filipinos' 60-84 loss to the Boomers in the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 quarterfinals.
“We tried to keep the game under a certain type of tempo. We tried to get into more of an execution type rather than an up-and-down. They just overwhelmed that idea. We couldn’t do it.”
[RELATED STORY: Dwight Ramos says Gilas Pilipinas need to work on defense after FIBA Asia Cup exit]
The Aussies imposed their superiority early on, swishing seven triples to post a 29-12 advantage at the end of the first period from which Gilas struggled to recover.
The Filipinos did have some tricks up their sleeve.
Cone decided to field in Kevin Quiambao for June Mar Fajardo to push the pace.
In the third period, the chief tactician even opted for Japeth Aguilar to man the paint for better defense, especially on pick-and-roll plays.
While the tweaks worked momentarily, those just were not enough to flip the script against Australia.
“At some point, we tried to match them pace for pace, and they just overwhelmed us,” said Cone.
[RELATED STORY: Kevin Quiambao still proud of Gilas despite loss to Australia, FIBA Asia Cup quarters exit]
But for Cone, that horrendous start ultimately made the difference.
“They started off really well, made the first three threes and jumped on a lead. We played from our heels the rest of the game,” said Cone, whose team fell into the same problem against Chinese Taipei.
“It’s always tough to be in that situation. I think, we could have played better, and we didn’t tonight.”
That’s something Gilas needs to mull over moving forward as the team convenes two months from now in time for the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers.
There, it will meet familiar foes in Australia and New Zealand.