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Pilipinas at the 2024 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament. Photo from FIBA. 

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Gilas head coach Tim Cone

Romwel Anzures

ABS-CBN News

<div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-color:rgb(0, 0, 0);min-height:13.8px"><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:950px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1720070805365IMG_4342.jpeg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Gilas Pilipinas at the 2024 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament. Photo from FIBA. "/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Gilas Pilipinas at the 2024 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament. <em>Photo from FIBA. </em></span></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-color:rgb(0, 0, 0);min-height:13.8px"><span>Gilas Pilipinas shocked the world in their first game in the 2024 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT).</span></div><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-color:rgb(0, 0, 0);min-height:13.8px"><span></span><br/></div><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-color:rgb(0, 0, 0)"><span>The world ranked No. 37 squad stunned the world No. 6 Latvia to keep the Philippines’ hopes of booking a spot in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games’ basketball event, with the Tim Cone-mentored team displaying admirable effort on both ends of the hardwood. </span></div><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-color:rgb(0, 0, 0);min-height:13.8px"><span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-color:rgb(0, 0, 0);min-height:13.8px"><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/2024/7/3/gilas-stuns-world-no-6-latvia-inches-closer-to-oqt-semis-134" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>READ: </strong></a><span id="isPasted" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color:rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3);-webkit-text-size-adjust:auto;caret-color:rgb(29, 29, 29);color:rgb(29, 29, 29)"><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/2024/7/3/gilas-stuns-world-no-6-latvia-inches-closer-to-oqt-semis-134" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Brownlee the hero as Gilas stuns world No. 6 Latvia, inches closer to OQT semis</strong></a></span></div><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-color:rgb(0, 0, 0);min-height:13.8px"><br/></div><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-color:rgb(0, 0, 0)"><span>Even Cone himself admitted that he was surprised by the outcome of their game especially since this is the first time that a Philippine squad defeated a European team in an official hoops game since the 1960 Olympic Games when they defeated Spain.</span></div><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-color:rgb(0, 0, 0);min-height:13.8px"><span></span><br/></div><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-color:rgb(0, 0, 0)"><span>“I’m totally shocked to be sitting here in front of you guys after winning this basketball game,” the Barangay Ginebra mentor said at the post-game presser at Arena Riga.</span></div><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-color:rgb(0, 0, 0);min-height:13.8px"><span></span><br/></div><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-color:rgb(0, 0, 0)"><span>“This is not something we thought we would do, I’ll be honest with you. We wanted to come in, compete, really put on a good show, and we got started early. We hit shots early, and thankfully Latvia missed shots.”</span></div><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-color:rgb(0, 0, 0);min-height:13.8px"><span></span><br/></div><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-color:rgb(0, 0, 0)"><span>Come also went on to dedicate the victory to the ever-basketball-crazy country that is the Philippines.</span></div><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-color:rgb(0, 0, 0);min-height:13.8px"><span></span><br/></div><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-color:rgb(0, 0, 0)"><span>“Anytime you can get to the international arena and have success, that’s a huge feather in your cap not just for me but for all the players, and all the people back home,” said Cone.</span></div><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-color:rgb(0, 0, 0);min-height:13.8px"><span></span><br/></div><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-color:rgb(0, 0, 0)"><span>“I grew up in the Philippines. I’ve been there my whole life since I was nine years old. They know that I’m basically Filipino, although I have blonde hair and green eyes. It’s a feather in our cap for everyone.” </span></div><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-color:rgb(0, 0, 0);min-height:13.8px"><span></span><br/></div><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-color:rgb(0, 0, 0)"><span>“Our country is so passionate about basketball. I think everybody pretty much knows that by now after the last World Cup. So for us to have success on the world stage means a lot to what’s going on back home because this is what we always wanted. This is a huge step for us to play a Latvia team at home and just go at them face-to-face and come out with a win,” he furthered.</span></div><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-color:rgb(0, 0, 0);min-height:13.8px"><span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-color:rgb(0, 0, 0);min-height:13.8px"><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:950px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1720071077446IMG_4343.jpeg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Gilas Pilipinas at the 2024 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament. Photo from FIBA. "/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Gilas Pilipinas at the 2024 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament.<em> Photo from FIBA. </em></span></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-color:rgb(0, 0, 0);min-height:13.8px"><span>What set the tone for Gilas was the eight-to-nothing start through the efforts of Justin Brownlee, June Mar Fajardo, and Kai Sotto, but according to Cone, what worked in this historic win is how the Triangle System did its magic for Gilas. </span></div><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-color:rgb(0, 0, 0);min-height:13.8px"><span></span><br/></div><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-color:rgb(0, 0, 0)"><span>“I guess I’m still a dinosaur at heart, playing the Triangle,” quipped the winningest coach in PBA history.</span></div><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-color:rgb(0, 0, 0);min-height:13.8px"><span></span><br/></div><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-color:rgb(0, 0, 0)"><span>“I’ve been playing the Triangle for 30-plus years. I was mentored by Tex Winter of the Chicago Bulls and the Los Angeles Lakers, he was an assistant to Phil Jackson.”</span></div><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-color:rgb(0, 0, 0);min-height:13.8px"><span></span><br/></div><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-color:rgb(0, 0, 0)"><span>“I just enjoyed living on his legacy, keeping it going. It’s an offense that I believe in. It got a lot of critics, especially when it went to the New York Knicks, people started to really doubt it. Even I left it for a couple of years. I was like, ‘Everybody must be right, right?’ If everybody’s saying it’s a bad offense, they must be right. I did as much as I could for two years without it, then I went back to it and it’s been my best friend ever since.”</span></div><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-color:rgb(0, 0, 0);min-height:13.8px"><span></span><br/></div><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-color:rgb(0, 0, 0)"><span>“When I came into camp with the players, I told them: ‘This is what I know best, this is what I can teach best, so we’re gonna live and die with this,” he continued, explaining that what makes it work is how it compliments the way they want to play on both ends of the floor.</span></div><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-color:rgb(0, 0, 0);min-height:13.8px"><span></span><br/></div><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-color:rgb(0, 0, 0)"><span>“I’m just proud that we’re able to do something with it. It’s an offense, if I may say, that plays at a tempo in which you can play defense and that’s why I love it so much. I’m kind of famous for the Triangle but I feel like I’m more of a defensive-oriented coach and that offense just helps me run the defense.”</span></div><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-color:rgb(0, 0, 0);min-height:13.8px"><span></span><br/></div><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-color:rgb(0, 0, 0)"><span><em></em><strong>Job’s not finished</strong></span></div><div><strong></strong><span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-color:rgb(0, 0, 0);min-height:13.8px"><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:950px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1720070881346IMG_4340.jpeg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Pilipinas at the 2024 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament. Photo from FIBA. "/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Gilas Pilipinas head coach Tim Cone at the 2024 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament. <em>Photo from FIBA.</em></span></span></span><span>Now that Gilas has proven that they could triumph over some of the big boys of international hoops, Cone understands that there is pressure for them to deliver another win. But according to him, what must fuel them instead is remaining consistent with how they run their system.</span></div><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-color:rgb(0, 0, 0);min-height:13.8px"><span></span><br/></div><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-color:rgb(0, 0, 0)"><span>“Whenever you win a game, the expectations go up, then you have to keep chasing the expectations. Hopefully, we won’t feel that, and hopefully, we can get that communicated to our team — that we can’t play the expectations. We just play the way we can play,” emphasized Cone.</span></div><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-color:rgb(0, 0, 0);min-height:13.8px"><span></span><br/></div><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-color:rgb(0, 0, 0)"><span>“Like I said, our country is so passionate about basketball. There is a lot of intense pressure to succeed. I know it seems like we haven’t been successful, but that doesn’t mean anything to our team. ”</span></div><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-color:rgb(0, 0, 0);min-height:13.8px"><span></span><br/></div><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-color:rgb(0, 0, 0)"><span>“They want us to be successful all the time, especially after the win tonight. It’s gonna be a really tough job for us to beat Georgia.”</span></div><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-color:rgb(0, 0, 0);min-height:13.8px"><span></span><br/></div><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-color:rgb(0, 0, 0)"><span>“Like I said, we’re not here to just win one game. We really wanna try and get to the finals and see what would happen if we get to the finals. That is the goal.”</span></div><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-color:rgb(0, 0, 0);min-height:13.8px"><span></span><br/></div><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-color:rgb(0, 0, 0)"><span>The Nationals will return to action tonight at 8:30 p.m. A win against Georgia will allow them to advance to the OQT crossover semifinals as the top seed in Group A, while a loss with an 18-point deficit or less will still allow them to book a semis ticket albeit as the No. 2 seed.</span></div><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-color:rgb(0, 0, 0);min-height:13.8px"><span></span><br/></div><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-color:rgb(0, 0, 0)"><span>Georgia, who was already beaten by Latvia, will only advance if they beat the Philippines by 19 points or more. </span></div><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-color:rgb(0, 0, 0)"><br/></div><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-color:rgb(0, 0, 0)"><span><strong>RELATED VIDEO:</strong></span></div><div><ivs-player data-ivs-key="e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603" data-ivs-spid="3001339" data-ivs-vid="3059152"></ivs-player></div><script src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/js/loader.js"></script>

<p>Gilas head coach Tim Cone dedicated their historic FIBA OQT triumph over Latvia to the Filipinos, but he emphasized that they are not satisfied with just getting one win.</p>

Gilas head coach Tim Cone dedicated their historic FIBA OQT triumph over Latvia to the Filipinos, but he emphasized that they are not satisfied with just getting one win.

Cone after Gilas’ historic OQT triumph over Latvia: ‘We’re not here just to win one game’

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Cone after Gilas’ historic OQT triumph over Latvia: ‘We’re not here just to win one game’

Romwel Anzures,

ABS-CBN News

Published July 04, 2024 02:01 PM PHT

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Updated July 04, 2024 03:05 PM PHT

Read More:

Basketball

ABSSports

Gilas Pilipinas

2024 FIBA Olympic Qualifiers

Tim Cone

2024 Paris Olympic Games

Dwight Ramos

June Mar Fajardo

Justine Brownlee

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