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Gilas Pilipinas looks to bounce back from Asia Cup opener
Gilas Pilipinas will try to bounce back from its opening loss to Chinese Taipei in the 31st FIBA Asia Cup, currently being held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
The Philippines faces the New Zealand Tall Blacks on Thursday at 11:00 p.m. (Manila time), hoping to move on from a disappointing 95-87 defeat a night earlier.
It will be a tough assignment for the world No. 34-ranked squad as it takes on the 22nd-ranked New Zealand in a must-win battle to keep its quarterfinal hopes alive.
Photo Courtesy: FIBA
"This may be a big roadblock for us right here, but it’s something that we have to try to overcome," said Gilas head coach Tim Cone. "If we have to come through the loser's bracket, then we'll try to do that."
The Tall Blacks, meanwhile, are coming off a dominant 100-78 win over Iraq. Despite the lopsided result, they were tested in the first half before pulling away after halftime.
"This may be a big roadblock for us right here, but it’s something that we have to try to overcome," said Gilas head coach Tim Cone. "If we have to come through the loser's bracket, then we'll try to do that."
Cone admitted disappointment from the opener, but quickly turned the page.
"We can feel bad about this one as much as we want. We can cry about it even, but bottom line is we’ve got New Zealand coming up and we’ve got to be ready for them," he added.
The road ahead, however, is no longer entirely within Gilas' control. Even if the Philippines stuns New Zealand, its chances of topping Group D and clinching an outright quarterfinal berth will depend on Chinese Taipei’s results against Iraq and the Tall Blacks. A sweep by Chinese Taipei would automatically secure them the top spot.
Still, a win over New Zealand would keep Gilas in contention for a playoff qualification game against either the second- or third-placed team from Group C, which includes China, Jordan, India, and host Saudi Arabia. As of this writing, China and Jordan are unbeaten in their respective campaigns.
Another loss, however, would eliminate Gilas from top-seed contention and force them into a must-win game against Iraq to reach the qualification phase. Simply put, the stakes are high in this next matchup.
Gilas and New Zealand split their meetings in the Asia Cup qualifiers—Philippines taking a 93-89 thriller at the Mall of Asia Arena last November, before the Tall Blacks responded with an 87-70 win in Auckland last February.
New Zealand may be without veteran Corey Webster this time, but the squad remains stacked with familiar faces such as Taylor Britt, Tohi Smith-Milner, Jordan Ngatai, and Max Darling—all of whom bring experience and toughness.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do,” said Ngatai, the Tall Blacks’ team captain. “The boys set a pretty high standard from the last Asia Cup. Hopefully, we can do better than that.”
New Zealand claimed bronze in the 2022 edition of the tournament in Jakarta—a result Gilas hopes to exceed as it continues its quest for continental glory.
But first, the Filipinos need to get past New Zealand.
