ONLY a day to go, the Philippines is set to see Gilas Pilipinas return to the international stage, aiming for redemption and determined to bring home the gold at the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
As always, the excitement around the Men’s National Basketball Team never fades. With the same core players representing the nation, the mission stays unchanged: restore the country’s former glory.
The national team’s first gold in the continental tournament came in 1985, led by stars like Allan Caidic, Samboy Lim, Hector Calma, and Jerry Codiñera. It remains a proud highlight in Philippine basketball history.
Gold or Nothing
Under Tim Cone’s system, the Nationals ended a six-decade drought by clinching the Asian Games gold medal, scored victories over New Zealand and Latvia, and pushed powerhouses like Georgia and Brazil to the limit.
“Our goal is to win a gold medal,” Cone emphasized before entering the Asia Cup. “That’s our goal, we’re gonna go out there to win a gold medal. Will we? I’m not sure, but that’s certainly our goal.”
Though the Nationals are well-positioned to build on these achievements for another potential historic run, Cone stressed that the key to success begins with a classic basketball mantra: “One game at a time.”
“Our goal is certainly to win a gold medal, but we’re not gonna look that far away. Our goal is there, but our focus is what’s right in front of us. What we’re focused on is every day, and the first game that we’ll play,” he said.
“You know the saying, we’re taking it one game at a time. That’s always said because it’s always true,” the longtime Barangay Ginebra and PBA’s winningest tactician went on to say.
Beyond the pursuit of gold, Cone and the entire squad are driven by a mission to make up for the country’s underwhelming showing in the previous Asia Cup—a campaign that, to put it mildly, didn’t live up to expectations.
Redemption in Progress
Back in 2022, under then-head coach Chot Reyes, Gilas Pilipinas failed to reach the quarterfinals and settled for a ninth-place finish—the country’s lowest ever—despite fielding a roster full of talent.
Meanwhile, Cone is also eyeing personal redemption, aiming to erase the sting of a nearly flawless Asia Cup Qualifiers run that was marred by losses to New Zealand and Chinese-Taipei in their second meetings.
“Taiwan beat us the last time we faced them, and they added two young [NCAA] Division I players and those guys are making an impact on that team,” Cone pointed out the addition of Robert and Adam Hinton.
“They have the personnel. It wasn’t a fluke that they beat us, so we have to be really prepared.”
“Obviously, New Zealand is always gonna be tough no matter what team they send. Iraq, we don’t know a lot about Iraq yet, but we’re finding it out as we go along,” he went on to say.
Although Kai Sotto remains sidelined as he recovers from the ACL tear he suffered earlier this year, Cone remains optimistic about their chances, confident that the team still has dependable big men to rely on.
“With Kai out, it poses a lot more problems for us. But, I still feel that we can be a really great team without him at this point. Certainly love to have him, though,” he said.
Gilas Pilipinas will kick off their Asia Cup campaign against Chinese-Taipei on August 6 at 2:00 a.m., followed by a highly anticipated rematch with New Zealand on August 7 at 11:00 p.m., and will wrap up the group stage against Iraq on August 9 at 4:00 p.m.
