Camille Naredo

Gilas Pilipinas ahead of its game against Iran in the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers, August 31, 2026 at the Mall of Asia Arena. FIBA photo

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FIBA

Paige Javier

ABS-CBN News

<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1788113334381083126_Gilas.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960" alt="Gilas Pilipinas ahead of its game against Iran in the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers, August 31, 2026 at the Mall of Asia Arena. FIBA photo"/>Gilas Pilipinas ahead of its game against Iran in the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers, August 31, 2026 at the Mall of Asia Arena. FIBA photo</div>MANILA — Winning their two home games in the fourth window of the 2027 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers was more than just numbers for Gilas Pilipinas head coach Tim Cone.The Nationals grinded out another come-from-behind victory over Iran, 68-56, on Sunday to sweep their home assignments in the qualifiers.<div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/basketball/2026/8/30/fiba-all-filipino-gilas-outlasts-iran-to-sweep-homestand-2145">READ: All-Filipino Gilas outlasts Iran to sweep homestand</a></div>Cone was proud of their hard-fought wins against &quot;really high-level international teams&quot; in Iran and Jordan.&quot;Well, I&#x27;m almost lost for words, you know, that&#x27;s really unusual for me. I&#x27;m not usually lost for words, but I&#x27;m extremely happy,&quot; Cone said at the post-game press conference at the Mall of Asia Arena.&quot;Kai [Sotto] just asked me walking in, &#x27;Are you now the happiest guy in the world?&#x27; Because I said earlier, if we can win these two games, I&#x27;ll be the happiest guy in the world. So right now, I&#x27;m the happiest guy in the world,&quot; he added.The Gilas mentor shared why the win over Iran carried more meaning for the team, which was missing the services of naturalized player Justin Brownlee.&quot;I read something in FIBA yesterday that this is only the third win we&#x27;ve had against them [Iran] in the last 13 games. So, you know, and then we were able to do it, all-Filipino,&quot; Cone shared.&quot;It makes it really sweet to come out and win this game. And to do it at home, we had such great moments,&quot; he added.Cone was referring to Gilas&#x27; 87-73 win over Iran at the FIBA Asia Championship in Changsha, China back in 2015.For the champion coach, Gilas showed &quot;puso&quot; and &quot;laban&quot; in both games against Jordan and Iran, with several players stepping up to push the team to victory.&quot;Just a great character performance by these guys in both games, in both games. And to have that overtime game, you know, it would be so easy to kind of let down coming into this one,&quot; Cone said.&quot;But you know, they all knew the importance of it. They all knew how important it was for them and for the country. They came out and played. And it was fun to be a part of it, really a lot of fun to be a part of it,&quot; he shared.Gilas big man Kai Sotto, who was vital to both victories, praised his teammates—especially his fellow young players—for holding down the fort without Brownlee.<div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/basketball/2026/8/30/fiba-cone-sees-difference-maker-kai-sotto-as-key-to-gilas-ceiling-2332">READ: Cone sees ‘difference-maker’ Kai Sotto as key to Gilas’ ceiling</a></div>&quot;I think this window was a big challenge for us without Justin. And it was on us to take that bigger step. We have to help each other, we have to play better, and we have to own that we have that big responsibility for this team,&quot; Sotto said.&quot;I think everybody stepped up and I&#x27;m proud of the guys. I&#x27;m just very happy we got these two wins,&quot; he added.As it swept both home games, Gilas improved to a 4-4 record in Group E behind Iran and Jordan, who hold an identical 5-3 slate.Despite boosting its chances for a World Cup return, Cone said there is still a long journey ahead of them and they need to carry the momentum into the next two windows.&quot;This was really a special moment, but this wasn&#x27;t our goal. Our goal is to make the World Cup. And all this did was give us a big step forward. And so the job is not done. We still got work to do. But again, this was a nice step forward,&quot; Cone said.&quot;And hopefully we continue to take steps forward. I mean, how special would it be for us to make the World Cup again and then have a chance from there to go to the Olympics? And that&#x27;s really the ultimate goal,&quot; he shared.

Winning their two home games in the fourth window of the 2027 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers was more than just numbers for Gilas Pilipinas head coach Tim Cone.

Winning their two home games in the fourth window of the 2027 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers was more than just numbers for Gilas Pilipinas head coach Tim Cone.

Tim Cone 'extremely happy' as Gilas completes home sweep sans Brownlee

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Tim Cone 'extremely happy' as Gilas completes home sweep sans Brownlee

Paige Javier,

ABS-CBN News

Published August 31, 2026 05:30 AM PHT

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