Gilas Pilipinas head coach Tim Cone in their 2027 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers match against New Zealand. Photo from FIBA Basketball.MANILA — There were no moral victories for Tim Cone after Gilas Pilipinas fell just short against New Zealand in the 2027 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers on Thursday night.
Despite clawing back from double-digit deficits and threatening to force overtime, Gilas could not overcome a cold shooting night, bowing to the Tall Blacks, 66-69.
The Nationals shot just 26-of-80 from the field — a dismal 32.5% clip — and for Cone, coming close was hardly worth celebrating.
READ: Gilas falls to New Zealand, absorbs 1st defeat in WC Asian Qualifiers
“I'm not going to sit here and pretend like I'm happy about our performance,” said the Barangay Ginebra mentor. “The bottom line is we're not going to feel good or take pride in the fact that we got close or we almost won or whatever.”
Cone likewise refused to pin the loss solely on missed shots, even as Justin Brownlee struggled with just four points on 2-of-10 shooting, including 0-of-4 from beyond the arc.
“I hate saying that we didn't make shots, because there's more to the game than just that,” he said.
“That's an easy explanation. If you're saying that, it's usually because you're not getting good shots. And we didn't get the shots that we wanted. Credit goes to New Zealand. They defended well.”
Still, Cone found a silver lining in the performance of Gilas’ frontcourt, particularly Quentin Millora-Brown and AJ Edu, who held their own against their Kiwi counterparts — a promising sign with powerhouse Australia up next.
“I thought our big guys, Q and AJ, played real well,” he said. “We defended well. We competed on the boards.”
But any positives, Cone stressed, will mean little if they do not translate into wins.
As Gilas prepares to face the Boomers on Sunday, the veteran tactician made it clear that their approach must remain unchanged.
“Bottom line, we're here to win,” he emphasized. “We showed up to win, and we didn't do that tonight.”
Tip-off on Sunday is at 7:30 p.m., still at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.