Romwel Anzures

Article (news)

Gilas  FIBA

ABS-CBN News

<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/173250998904620241121-fiba-gilas-newzealand-MQD_1767-MD.jpeg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Gilas Pilipinas in the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers, November 21, 2025, at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay. Photo by Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News."/>Gilas Pilipinas in the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers, November 21, 2025, at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay. Photo by Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News.MANILA — Gilas Pilipinas concluded an eventful year by showcasing consistent progress, which was evident by its performance in the latest window of the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers.</div>The Nationals — who were coming an their inspiring performance in the 2024 Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Riga, Latvia, last July, and a golden finish in the 2023 Asian Games — spoiled their believers by dominating Hong Kong on Sunday, just 72 hours removed from their historic, statement win against World’s No.22 New Zealand on Thursday.<div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/basketball/2024/11/24/fiba-big-game-from-carl-tamayo-powers-gilas-rout-of-hong-kong-2109">READ: Big game from Carl Tamayo powers Gilas&#x27; rout of Hong Kong</a></div><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/basketball/2024/11/21/fiba-sotto-brownlee-power-gilas-to-statement-win-over-new-zealand-2120">READ: Sotto, Brownlee power Gilas to statement win over New Zealand</a></div>“To overcome that was really special,”  expressed Tim Cone, who is just set to finish his first year back as, once again, national team head coach. “That was really special, especially because of our home court, our home crowd. Our guys were pressured to win, and they found a way. I’m proud of them.”The signs of growth and promise that these wins have brought to the program are what fans have been looking forward to ever since the time when &quot;puso&quot; became the main battle cry of the national team, more than a decade ago.Back then, the &quot;Laban Pilipinas, Puso!&quot; mantra proved enough to power Gilas back to relevance at both the Asian and International levels.From the earliest rosters that featured the likes of Chris Tiu, Jvee Casio, and Rajko Toroman, to the 2013 curse-breakers Jimmy Alapag, Jayson Castro, Marc Pingris, LA Tenorio, Ranidel de Ocampo, Marcus Douthit, and Chot Reyes — Gilas leaned on heart above everything else.It enabled them to defeat regional rivals South Korea in the 2013 FIBA Asian Championships and also bring home silver in the same tilt, and it eventually propelled Gilas to new heights as they competed in three consecutive editions of the Basketball World Cup, in 2014, 2019, and 2023.However, &quot;Puso&quot; can only do so much for the national team, even if it also reflects one of the most vital factors of their success — the Filipinos’ love and passion for the game.During their highs from 2013 to early 2023, the National team also had several major changes in system, rosters, and coaches — with Coach Chot, Yeng Guiao, Tab Baldwin, and Nenad Vucinic taking turns in leading their respective Gilas squads — and these series of events were culminated by the 2023 World Cup here in Manila.Despite having homecourt advantage as well as all the fanfare that came with hosting the FIBA Worlds, the Philippines only won one of its five games at the Araneta Coliseum, with that lone win coming against its fellow Asian team China.<div>Then came the return of Coach Tim Cone to the National team. <img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/173251006512520241124-fiba-gilas-hongkong-MQD_3314 (1)-MD.jpeg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Gilas Pilipinas head coach Tim Cone in the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers, November 21, 2025, at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay. Photo by Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News."/>Gilas Pilipinas head coach Tim Cone in the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers, November 25, 2025, at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay. Photo by Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News.In late 2023, 25 years after he led the Centennial Team to Asiad bronze in 1998, Cone — now the winningest coach in PBA history — is again at the forefront of Philippine basketball.</div>He turned what was left of the World Cup group and other willing PBA players into Asiad champions after 61 years of waiting, and he also gave the country its first victory over a European country after they defeated Latvia in the 2024 OQT.“That’s what we&#x27;re here for, winning these types of games,” said Cone, whose appointment was made official last February, of these milestones. “The OQT was fantastic. I thought that we would have done a lot better if this guy hadn’t gotten hurt,” he emphasized while pointing to Kai Sotto.How did they do this? Was it having taller centers that enabled him to make magic? Not exactly.<div>-- Gilas always had height, not just ‘Puso.’ --</div>Contrary to the claims that the Philippines should not prioritize basketball due to the Filipinos’ average height which is inferior to their opponents, Gilas teams always had big men — both local and naturalized — at their disposal.From the likes of Douthit, June Mar Fajardo, Japeth Aguilar, Andre Blatche, Greg Slaughter, Raymond Almazan, and Troy Rosario in the 2010s, to the 2020s batch of Sotto, Ange Kouame, Geo Chiu, Isaac Go, and AJ Edu — all of them but Almazan, Go, and Rosario (all 6‘7 centers) are 6-foot-9 or above, and two of them are even 7-footers.What made the difference for Cone’s squad? Their program’s continuity was key, according to the 7-foot-2, Japan B.League star.“Nagsimula siya sa preparation namin,” explained Sotto. “Simula sa window noong February, simula nung na-build yung team, talagang tuloy-tuloy lang kami. Kaya manalo, matalo, titingnan lang namin yung bigger picture.”Unlike in the past where waiting for the Final 12 was like waiting for the announcement of board and bar exams passers due to the drama and the huge number of players in the pool, Cone’s system and program were straight to the point.“If you can keep a core going all the time and really focus on that, that core is going to get better,” insisted Cone. “If you start expanding the pool, you have to go back to zero and start teaching everything over again. If you bring 20 guys in, you have to teach 20 guys how to do things in a span of four or five days, and it gets really hard so it’s better if we tighten up.”He started it with a 12-man pool, and since then, only a few names were added to it over the past months, mainly to compensate for injuries.This approach also helped Gilas make the most of its forwards, taller ones, that is, as they are utilized not only to the best of their capabilities, but also to compliment the big men of the team.Gone are the days when the 6-foot-4 Pingris needed to bang bodies with the 7’2 Hamed Haddadis, the 6’11 Yi Jianlians, the 6’9 Luis Scolas, and the 6’9 young Giannis Antetokoumpos.For starters, Dwight Ramos (6’4) and Calvin Oftana (6’5) can shift to the two and three spots, while Kevin Quiambao (6’6), Mason Amos (6’7), Jamie Malonzo (6’7), and Carl Tamayo (6’8) can be inserted in the three and four alongside Justin Brownlee, Aguilar, Sotto, Edu and Fajardo.“Carl came out, hit a three-point shot, went to the basket, had a post up, had an offensive rebound, and that’s what we’re looking for in our young guys. We wanna use their total game,” raved Cone.”That’s the case for him, with KQ, and even Mason. Mason is a specialist with his three-point shots, but we’re trying to expand his game as well. I won’t stop saying this: They are the superstars of this team down the road. They are still learning and feeling their way, so it’s really trying to get us all on the same page so we can all play together and read each other.”Gilas always had height, but it did not previously have these lengthy, do-it-all wings and forwards who could also maximize the skills of the centers that they have.“Honestly, I just love playing June Mar and Kai together,” Cone said after their historic win against New Zealand -- their first ever against the Tall Blacks. “It&#x27;s so much fun to watch seeing those guys play. They have great synergy between the two of them. They look for each other, they complement each other. I think that the two of them work really, really hard to be successful together.”<div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/basketball/2024/11/22/fiba-cone-praises-chemistry-of-sotto-fajardo-in-gilas-1739">READ: Cone praises chemistry of Sotto, Fajardo in Gilas</a></div>”You don&#x27;t see very many two power inside guys playing the game together anymore these days. It&#x27;s really fun to watch them play,” he added.<div>Kaiju’s uprise <img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/173251049545320241124-fiba-gilas-hongkong-MQD_2984-MD.jpeg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Gilas Pilipinas head coach Tim Cone in the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers, November 21, 2025, at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay. Photo by Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News., Kai Sotto"/>Gilas Pilipinas star Kai Sotto in the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers, November 25, 2025, at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay. Photo by Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News.Speaking of maximizing talent and skills, Sotto also has continued to impose his might over his fellow Asian big men.</div>Ever since he played for Cone, Sotto has been tearing it up across the board, delivering 15.5 points, 12.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 2.3 rejections for the National team. These numbers are a far cry from his 2023 World Cup averages of 6.0 markers, 4.0 boards, and 0.6 dimes just a year ago.“I just love the commitment that Kai is showing,” expressed Cone of Sotto. “He’s doing it all, scoring, rebounding and assists.”Even Brownlee was in awe of the former Ateneo High School star and doubled down on the sentiments of his coach.“He does a lot of things very well, shooting, passing. He can do everything on the court. He’s 7-foot-2 and he can do everything. He definitely makes the game a lot easier for everybody,” said the Barangay Ginebra superstar.“I’ve been saying it: I feel like he’s good enough to play in the NBA, in my opinion. He has a long way to go, he’s only early 20s. I’m happy for his progression and I’m excited to see what the future holds for him,” added JB.<div>-- Gilas’ Puso is still there, and Coach Tim loves it --</div>Other than the important development that Cone has brought upon the national team, he emphasized that above all, it is still the heart of the players that made it possible for them to stay consistent with what they have been doing through the past months.“These guys, to be honest, are not making big money doing this,” he said. “They are basically getting a small portion of their salaries. They are coming in here with their hearts more than their pockets, and they’re giving it their all.”“My hat is really off to the players and what they are doing to get to this point and to this level. This is not an All-Star team. We aren’t out there to showcase our individual skills, and we gotta come together as a team, and sometimes, it takes some hard coaching.”“That’s what I love about this team, they really accept that idea, and it makes it so much easier from a coaching standpoint to handle this team. I love this team,” he added.The national team is still reliant on their Puso, but they are not just shouting it to hype their believers. Instead, they are pouring it on the floor alongside the height and might that Tim Cone and his players have been bringing since they entered the team.<div>-- Even after reaching new heights, the sky&#x27;s still the limit for Gilas --</div>Gilas will return to action in February of next year to face Chinese Taipei and New Zealand anew, and Cone acknowledged that it could be the hardest challenge that they could face in the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers.“The two away games are gonna be the toughest teams in this window,” he said. “With the short preparation times, it’s hard to keep everybody updated on the system. I was telling the guys that in the first practice back, I kind of assumed that they would know everything because we just came from the OQT a few months ago, but they went back and they completely forgot.”“The second practice, the memory chips were starting to work a little bit, and by the third and fourth, we were coming together.”Fortunately for the country, Cone said that they have yet to parade their finest squad — Gilas’ best is yet to come.“We played Brazil, the No. 12 team in the world without Kai, Scottie, AJ Edu, and Jamie Malonzo,” he pointed out. “We haven’t seen our best team yet, and yet, we have been able to beat No.6 [Brazil], and No.22 [New Zealand].“We are still trying to see where we can go, and how far we can go,” he said. <div>RELATED VIDEO:</div><script data-wid="auto" type="text/javascript" src="https://content.viralize.tv/display/?zid=AAEyze-tm4MR6kEa&amp;cid=ABQ2aCHAGkFkeqjV&amp;activation=click&amp;vip_mode=playing&amp;vip_position=bottom-right"></script>

Gilas Pilipinas concluded an eventful year by showcasing consistent progress which was evident by its performance in the latest window of the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers.

Gilas Pilipinas concluded an eventful year by showcasing consistent progress which was evident by its performance in the latest window of the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers.

Gilas Pilipinas always had heart — but it now has the height and might to back it up

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Gilas Pilipinas always had heart — but it now has the height and might to back it up

Rom Anzures,

ABS-CBN News

Published November 25, 2024 02:05 PM PHT

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