MANILA, Philippines – Tim Cone shouldered the blame after Gilas Pilipinas absorbed its first loss in the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers by way of a 91-84 road loss to Chinese Taipei on Thursday, February 20.
Cone said he should have done a better job getting the team ready as the Philippines got stunned by a new-look Taiwanese squad it crushed by 53 points in the first window just over a year ago.
“No one feels worse about this devastating loss than I do and I take full ownership of it,” Cone wrote on X on Friday.
“We knew they were going to be much improved from the last time we played them, but they were even better than we thought. That’s on me. No doubt, I should have prepared us better.”
Justin Brownlee put the Filipinos on his back with a game-high 39 points built on a prolific 8-of-11 clip from three-point land to go with 8 assists and 6 rebounds.
But Gilas succumbed to Chinese Taipei’s balanced attack and outside shooting, with the hosts having five players in double-figure scoring and sinking 15 three-pointers in total.
Naturalized big man Brandon Gilbeck, Mohammad Gadiaga, Lin Ting-Chien, Ma Chien-Hao, and Lu Chun-Hsiang, whom the Taiwanese missed in their first encounter with the Filipinos, all figured prominently in the win.
Gadiaga and Lin churned out 21 points apiece, Lu tossed in 18 points, Ma added 14 points, and Gilbeck put up 8 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 blocks.
It did not help the Philippines’ cause that it coughed up 17 turnovers, a couple of which came inside the final two minutes where Gilas went scoreless.
“There is obviously a lot that I would have done differently in that game if given another chance, but that is not possible now. Only thing we can do at this point is move on,” said Cone.
“I will be better. We will be better.”
With a 4-1 record, the Filipinos dropped to a tie with New Zealand for the top spot in Group B after the Kiwis gave Hong Kong a 92-51 beating on Thursday.
The No. 1 in the group will be determined as the Philippines visits New Zealand in Auckland on Sunday, February 23, to wrap up the Asia Cup Qualifiers. – Rappler.com