February 20, 2025 | 12:00am
The Philippines has qualified for the FIBA Asia Cup in Jeddah on Aug. 5-17 along with six other teams so Gilas’ third window games against Chinese-Taipei tonight and New Zealand on Sunday are no-bearing. But it doesn’t mean Gilas won’t come out to win. Coach Tim Cone isn’t a believer in the philosophy of tanking. As it should be, every game counts. No-bearing isn’t in the vocabulary of champion coaches.
Still, the reality is the Philippines booked a ticket to Jeddah after compiling a 4-0 record in the first two FIBA Asia Cup qualifying windows. The six other early qualifiers are New Zealand, Japan, Australia, Lebanon, Jordan and host Saudi Arabia. Expected to fill the remaining nine slots are China, South Korea, Iran, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Chinese-Taipei, India, Bahrain and Syria.
Gilas’ real test will come in Jeddah. Australia has swept the last two FIBA Asia Cups where the Philippines failed to make it to the semis. The Philippines finished second in back-to-back finals in 2013 and 2015 but hasn’t ascended the throne since coach Ron Jacobs took the national team all the way in 1985. The Philippines won three of the first four championships, dating back to 1960, added another title in 1973 then China bagged five straight crowns before Jacobs broke the stranglehold.
Gilas is coming off golden finishes at the SEA and Asian Games. SBP president Al Panlilio is hoping for a podium landing in Jeddah, meaning Cone’s challenge is to bring home a gold, silver or bronze. It won’t be easy considering Australia is ranked No. 7 in the world, Japan No. 21, New Zealand No. 22, Iran No. 28, Lebanon No. 29, China No. 30 and the Philippines No. 34. But Gilas got by Iran and China in the last Asian Games and shocked New Zealand in the second FIBA Asia Cup qualifying window. The ball is round and anything can happen even if Australia and Japan are expected to suit up their NBA players.
At the recent Doha International Cup, Gilas showed fatigue in bowing to Lebanon by 21 and Egypt by 31, results that surely didn’t sit well with Cone. The travel and back-to-back-to-back games took a toll. Against the Cedars, Gilas trailed by only three at the end of the third quarter then collapsed in the fourth with only six points while giving up 24. Against Egypt, the Philippines was outscored in the last quarter, 29-10. Standing strong in the homestretch is critical and Cone must adjust his rotation to preserve fresh legs for the end-game.
Lebanon played without NBA import Omari Spellman and mainstays Wael Arakji, Mohamed Haidar and Sergio El Darwich yet had more than enough firepower to outgun Gilas. Lebanon’s 6-11 Ater Majok, 37, was a handful with 12 points and nine rebounds. Majok, a South Sudan refugee who fled to Australia, got his Lebanese passport in 2017 and had played for the Australian and South Sudan national teams in a rare case of multiple representations. Egypt recalled only four of its 2023 FIBA World Cup veterans but two were 7-2 Omar Oraby and 7-0 Anas Mahmoud who fueled a 47-32 domination of the boards.
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