MANILA — Gilas Pilipinas faces a period of reflection after twin home defeats to New Zealand and Australia in the Fiba World Cup Qualifiers.
The national team will next compete in July when it travels to Australia and New Zealand to finish the first round. Coach Tim Cone and his staff will use the intervening months to assess what went wrong and how to improve before facing the Middle Eastern teams in the second round.
“We have to keep thinking of the bigger picture,” Cone said. “We’re not going to lose our berth losing to Australia and New Zealand. The games that will really get us into the World Cup are against the Middle Eastern teams at the end of the year.”
Gilas is currently tied with New Zealand at 2-2 in Group A, with Australia leading the group at 4-0. Guam has been virtually eliminated with an 0-4 record.
Cone also hinted at possible adjustments to the team’s approach, particularly on offense, while praising the squad’s defense despite the losses. Questions remain on roster composition for July, including the availability of Kai Sotto and the integration of Justine Baltazar into the pool.
“We’re going to have to look at our offense and maybe simplify things a little,” Cone said. “For a game and a half, I couldn’t have been more proud about our defense.”
