Kai Sotto (No. 11) is back in the middle of things for Gilas Pilipinas. —FIBA PHOTO
Coach Tim Cone admitted there are plenty of things that need to be fixed before Gilas Pilipinas can get into its desired form for the fourth window of the Fiba World Cup Asian Qualifiers.
Cone made the assessment after the Nationals won a tuneup game on Thursday, beating Ulsan Hyundai Mobis Phoebus of the Korean Basketball League, 81-76, at the San Miguel Corporation Sports Complex along C-5 Road in Pasig.
“We won a close game,” Cone said, without giving much detail on how the exhibition, which was supposed to give Gilas a feel of an actual competition, turned out.
It’s been four days since Gilas got together to begin preparations for crucial home battles against Jordan and Iran on Aug. 28 and 30 at Mall of Asia Arena.
At this point, Gilas is treating every game in the second round as a must-win, with little to no room for error after going 2-4 in the first round of home-and-away matches against Australia, New Zealand and Guam.
Sitting outside the top four in Group E, Gilas can’t afford another loss, as it may dim its chances of qualifying for next year’s World Cup in Doha.
And as much as Cone saw the need for improvement, the tuneup may have served its initial purpose.
“We didn’t play well, but the game gave us a good indication of where we are and how far we have to go to get ready,” he said.
The tune-up saw Kai Sotto in action, allowing him to get reacquainted with Cone’s scheme after not donning the Gilas uniform since late 2024.
Cone was ecstatic over Sotto’s decision to join the team’s buildup for the Qualifiers, given that Gilas is running short on bigs with Quentin Millora-Brown still out for the window.
While AJ Edu, Justine Baltazar and June Mar Fajardo are still there, Sotto’s presence was a sight for sore eyes.
“It’s a do-or-die situation, and we’re extremely happy that he responded to the call,” Cone said last Monday. “No doubt, he’s a game-changer for us. I already feel like a better coach with him in the fold.”
Also back is CJ Perez, who skipped the third window against New Zealand and Australia, while some fresh faces could make the team in Converge’s Justin Arana and Terrafirma’s Geo Chiu, who are part of the pool for the window.
Gilas, however, is still waiting for Justin Brownlee to rejoin the team after he spent the past few months recovering from hamstring and knee injuries.
In India, Gilas Pilipinas youth men’s team advanced to the Fiba U18 Asia Cup quarterfinals after turning back Syria, 72-63, on Thursday.
The Filipinos used another strong second-half push, closing the third quarter with a 9-0 run to turn a 42-44 deficit into a 51-44 lead and take control for good.
Meanwhile, the Gilas Pilipinas women suffered a heavy 85-38 loss to No. 7-ranked Canada in the Fiba Women’s Pre-Olympic Qualifying Tournament on Thursday in Guadalajara, Mexico.
The Philippines fell to 0-2 in Group B.
“I think what we saw today was a 30th-ranked team in the world playing a seventh-ranked team, except that I know that we can play better than we played today,” Gilas Women coach BT Toews said.
“It just became a complete domination in every statistical category. In order for us to get to the next level, starting in Asia, we definitely need to do better in the smaller things.”
Gilas Pilipinas looks to rebound against Senegal on Friday. —WITH REPORTS FROM CELEST FLORES-COLINA