By REYNALD MAGALLON
The win against Iraq was not only big for Gilas Pilipinas’ chances in the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup but more importantly for their morale heading into the knockout rounds of the continental tiff.
Gilas head coach Tim Cone admitted that the team badly needed the victory to at least restore its confidence after the two tough losses to Chinese Taipei and New Zealand.
“Any win at this point is going to be a big win for us because we needed one to get under our belt,” said Cone following Gilas’ 66-57 triumph over Iraq to advance to the qualification for the quarterfinals against host Saudi Arabia.
Though the Nationals’ performance still failed to live up to the lofty expectations, especially after allowing Iraq to keep in step with them following another sluggish start, the win remains a breath of fresh air for a Gilas side that was in a four-game losing skid in the international stage.
And it dated back to the February window of the Asia Cup qualifiers where it also lost to both the Tall Blacks and the Taiwanese.
“We needed to have a win to kind of rekindle our confidence, I think. And so we’re happy to be moving on,” added the veteran mentor.
Dwight Ramos, who spearheaded the third quarter breakaway for Gilas, shared the same sentiments.
“We were feeling down a little bit, you know. The last couple of games we’ve been losing. So this one kind of raises our spirits,” said Ramos who was the only double-digit scorer for Gilas with 21 points.
The Nationals finished third with 1-2 slate in Group C – below from its target of either topping the pool to get an outright quarterfinals spot or finishing second to avoid getting into a quarter clash against regional powerhouses like Japan or Australia.
Now, the road is not only longer for Gilas but also tougher as it is in the course of a possible quarterfinals duel against the Australian boomers should it reach the Magic 8.
Cone said the team is up for the challenge.
“We know the road is going to be tough. We know that we picked a tougher road to go. But, you know, we’re ready to accept that challenge.”
