Gilas Pilipinas against Australia in the 2027 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers. Photo from FIBA Basketball.MANILA — Gilas Pilipinas was not at its best in the latest window of the 2027 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers, but that does not erase the strides the program has made — progress that kept its World Cup hopes firmly intact.
Head coach Tim Cone initially found no consolation, saying there was no room for moral victories after their 66-69 defeat to New Zealand on Thursday.
But when the dust settled on Sunday following a 93-66 blowout loss to World No. 6 Australia, how did the Barangay Ginebra mentor assess their progress?
READ: Gilas still can’t crack Australia code, ends home stand winless
“I want to use this loosely. But, you know, when you fail, you get better, hopefully,” Cone reflected after a loss he could only describe as “painful.”
“With the continuity of this program, I think we can learn some stuff going in and moving forward. Again, we want to win every game because we represent the country. But our ultimate goal is to make the World Cup,” he added.
The end of this marathon is a return to the FIBA World Cup.
And while Gilas stumbled in this window, it still inched closer to that objective, as the Philippines advanced to the next round of the qualifiers following New Zealand’s 99-67 win over Guam on Sunday.
READ: Gilas advances to Round 2 of World Cup qualifiers after New Zealand dominates Guam
To make the most of that development, however, Gilas must immediately address the issues that surfaced in its two losses, and among the hardest truths from this window was how its offensive struggles loomed largest.
“I think we're going to have to look a little bit at our offense, maybe try to simplify things a little more,” Cone acknowledged after Gilas shot just 33% from the field and 23.5% from beyond the arc across both games.
That was a stark contrast to 2024, when they defeated New Zealand by shooting 57.8% from the field, and stunned Latvia behind 50% overall shooting and 45% from three-point range — victories that served as gauges of Gilas’ growth when they are at full strength.
This window’s shooting woes also prevented Gilas from maximizing the talents of Kevin Quiambao and Carl Tamayo, as the two young forwards averaged just 2.5 points apiece in the two losses.
That is a far cry from how they have evolved into key figures for their respective teams in the Korean Basketball League (KBL). There, Quiambao is averaging 15.0 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 4.1 assists for the Goyang Sono Skygunners, while Tamayo is posting 15.5 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 2.7 assists for the Changwon LG Sakers.
Still, Cone reiterated that adding new players to the pool is not the priority solution. Rather, he emphasized that better shot quality and confidence are key.
“No complaints about our team,” he said. “It's just that we're not generating the shots that we want to generate. It's about getting the quality of shots. But I don't think there's a problem with our shooting.”
Cone — contrary to claims from some observers — also lamented not running his patented triangle offense as much as he would have liked, saying it might have helped them settle more comfortably into their sets.
“We probably should have run more, but they did a good job of disrupting us. I think that's the next step for us, being able to execute better. We didn't execute as much as we wanted to, and that's why we didn't get much of a flow,” he said.
Defensively, while he saw more positives than negatives, Cone still wants Gilas to show greater effort and consistency against opponents of such caliber.
“We base our team on being a great defensive team. We want our guys to come out and really lock in on defense,” said Cone, whose squad limited New Zealand to 66 points and held Australia to just 38 in the first half.
The problem, however, was sustainability. Defensive intensity dipped after halftime, and against elite teams, those brief lapses quickly turn into double-digit deficits.
“We're not going to shoot our way into 55 points against great teams like Australia or New Zealand. We’ve got to hold them down so that we can have a chance to win. We're not going to get into shootouts with these guys. We're not going to win doing shootouts,” he insisted.
With or without Kai
Gilas Pilipinas star center Kai Sotto in action. Photo from FIBA Basketball.Both figuratively and literally, Kai Sotto’s absence also cast a shadow over Gilas’ recent campaign.
The 7-foot-2 center, since recovering from his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury, has been averaging 11.1 points, 9.4 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.4 blocks for the Koshigaya Alphas in the Japan B.League.
Sotto was instrumental in the aforementioned 2024 wins against New Zealand and Latvia, and his decision not to play left Gilas leaning heavily on Quentin Millora-Brown, AJ Edu, and June Mar Fajardo in the frontcourt.
But for Cone, Gilas must still find ways to maximize what it has, even without the Las Piñas native.
“We're hoping Kai will get back to us at some point, maybe this upcoming window or even beyond. He's another factor, without a doubt, and we'd love to have him. But as long as he's not here, we can't cry about it. We just have to keep moving forward and playing for it,” he said.
With or without Sotto, reinforcements are on the way. The 6-foot-7 “Motor” Mike Phillips is expected to join the Gilas pool before the next window in July, while also available in their pool are Justine Baltazar, Jamie Malonzo, and Troy Rosario -- tall and mobile bigs who can add more versatility to the team on both ends.
READ: QMB thrilled to link up with ex-UAAP rival Mike Phillips in Gilas next window
In that July window, Gilas will again face New Zealand and Australia to conclude the First Round of the qualifiers.
But while Cone expects improvement in the rematch against the Oceania squads, he is also treating that stretch as preparation for Round 2, where Middle Eastern teams await.
“We're going to come back with renewed fire,” he said. “These are going to be the two best teams we play in the Asian qualifiers. We have to see if we can try to sneak a win in on the two of them, but we also have to keep thinking about the bigger picture.”
In the second round, Gilas will face the three advancing teams from Group C — Jordan, Iran, Syria, and Iraq — and in Cone’s view, that stretch will represent the latter stages of their marathon to the World Cup.
“The way we're going to have to do it is really when we play the Middle Eastern teams. That's going to be at the end of the year,” he said. “We're going to have to win those games. Those are the ones that are really going to get us into qualifying.”
For now, though, Cone and his crew return to their respective clubs, regrouping before the race resumes. The Nationals will not see action again until July 3 against New Zealand and July 6 vs. Australia.