Romwel Anzures

Gilas Pilipinas head coach Tim Cone in the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup. Photo from FIBA Basketball.

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<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1755342427547IMG_8039.jpeg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Gilas Pilipinas head coach Tim Cone in the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup. Photo from FIBA Basketball."/>Gilas Pilipinas head coach Tim Cone in the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup. Photo from FIBA Basketball.MANILA — Tim Cone offered no excuses for Gilas Pilipinas’ early exit in the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup. <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/basketball/2025/8/16/fiba-cone-opens-up-about-dealing-with-certain-constraints-in-gilas-pilipinas-1543"></a></div><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/basketball/2025/8/16/fiba-cone-opens-up-about-dealing-with-certain-constraints-in-gilas-pilipinas-1543">READ: Cone opens up about dealing with &#x27;certain constraints&#x27; in Gilas Pilipinas</a></div>The Barangay Ginebra mentor admitted that the Nationals could have played a lot better than their two wins in five games in Saudi Arabia, a record that resulted in them getting bounced in the quarterfinals.“We just couldn’t play as well as I hoped,” the PBA’s winningest coach said Saturday in an appearance in Power &amp; Play. “We didn’t play within the vision.”“The hardest part was getting on the plane, coming back here, and facing the music of our poor performance,” he added.In the wake of Gilas&#x27; exit, Cone has been criticized by fans online regarding his decisions -- including the system that they run, the composition of the national team roster, and their lack of preparation for the continental tournament.“I know people are complaining and upset about our triangle system,” he said, before revealing where he got that information. “I read social media, and I do that on purpose. I don’t like to do it, but I do it because I want to hear what the people are saying.”Given this, Cone also took the chance to defend his team, saying that the criticism wasn’t as loud when they were beating the likes of Latvia and New Zealand last year.“No. 1 -- this is what I do best, what I’ve done throughout my career, so teaching something that I don&#x27;t know doesn’t really make a lot of sense to me,” he said of his patented triangle system.“No. 2 -- when we were beating Latvia, when we were beating New Zealand, when we won the Asian Games, nobody was saying anything about the triangle. Now, people are beating up the triangle again.”“Give the guys some credit. They beat Latvia in Riga, they beat China in China, and they beat Saudi Arabia in Saudi Arabia. That’s not easy to do. Even New Zealand tried to beat us, but they couldn&#x27;t beat us at home,” he added.Still, Cone acknowledged that these comments and criticisms come with some level of merit.“Some people have really good suggestions, and I’m interested in what they say because I think it’s important to try what other people are saying,” he said. “It’s gonna be difficult at times, but you have to swallow it. That’s part of the job.“It’s a tough job. It’s a critical position, but I’ll continue to do it,” added the 25-time PBA Champion, two-time Grand Slam coach, and 2023 Asian Games gold medalist.On the other hand, Cone expressed appreciation to those who stood by them throughout their Asia Cup campaign, especially the fans in Jeddah who even offered extra help to their squad.“They were paying a lot of money to go to games, just to watch us play,” said Cone, who also thanked the supporters who took care of them while in KSA.“We had guys flying in from Riyadh, from Beirut,” he shared. “Nobody experienced that aside from us, not even the Saudi team.That is why Cone also lamented not being able to play more games for their fans who only see Gilas in action in rare times like the Asia Cup.“That great support, when you let them down, that makes you even worse,” he said. “The fact that we didn’t play as well as we wanted makes us feel even worse because we know we have that support. We wanted to live up to that support.”

“I know people are complaining and upset about our triangle system. I read social media, and I do that on purpose. I don’t like to do it, but I do it because I want to hear what the people are saying.”

“I know people are complaining and upset about our triangle system. I read social media, and I do that on purpose. I don’t like to do it, but I do it because I want to hear what the people are saying.”

FIBA: Cone says fan criticism part of his job — 'People are beating up the triangle again'

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FIBA: Cone says fan criticism part of his job — 'People are beating up the triangle again'

Rom Anzures,

ABS-CBN News

Published August 16, 2025 07:20 PM PHT

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