FOLLOWING their early exit from the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup, Gilas Pilipinas are facing heavy criticism—from their on-court performances to the overall system they’re using. The question remains: what’s causing their setbacks?
There’s no denying the national team fell short of expectations in the Asia Cup, and even head coach Tim Cone acknowledged that they didn’t perform at the level many had hoped for, including him.
In truth, the downward trend didn’t begin with this tournament. It can be traced back to when Kai Sotto suffered an ACL tear, leaving the team scrambling to find a reliable replacement to fill the massive void he left behind.
Still, much of the attention remains on their showing in the recently concluded tournament, where Gilas managed just two wins in five games in Saudi Arabia — a run that led to their early quarterfinals exit.
Don’t Blame the System
In an appearance on Noli Eala’s Power & Play on Saturday, Cone admitted the team could’ve performed much better. With the campaign now behind them, all that’s left is to face the wave of criticism coming their way.
“We just couldn’t play as well as I hoped. We didn’t play within the vision,” Cone said. “The hardest part was getting on the plane, coming back here, and facing the music of our poor performance.”
Cone has faced intense backlash from fans online, with criticism directed at his decisions — including the system being implemented, the makeup of the national team roster, and the team’s limited preparation ahead of the continental tournament.
“I know people are complaining and upset about our triangle system. I read social media, and I do that on purpose. I don’t like to do it, but I do it because I want to hear what the people are saying,” he added.
The Barangay Ginebra mentor also took the opportunity to defend his squad, pointing out that the criticism wasn’t as vocal when they were defeating teams like Latvia and New Zealand last year.
“Number one, this is what I do best, what I’ve done throughout my career, so teaching something that I don’t know doesn’t really make a lot of sense to me,” he said of his triangle offense system.
“Number two, when we were beating Latvia, when we were beating New Zealand, when we won the Asian Games, nobody was saying anything about the triangle. Now, people are beating up the triangle again.”
“Give the guys some credit. They beat Latvia in Riga, they beat China in China, and they beat Saudi Arabia in Saudi Arabia. That’s not easy to do. Even New Zealand tried to beat us, but they couldn’t beat us at home,” he added.
Lacks Quality Preparation
In the end, Australia once again came out on top, edging China by just a single point in the finals. China’s run was especially encouraging, having taken down New Zealand in the semifinals and pushing the Boomers to the limit.
Given that showing, Filipino fans couldn’t help but draw comparisons between the two nations. For many Gilas supporters, beating Oceania teams isn’t out of reach — but it’s a challenge that demands ample preparation time.
Unlike the Japan B.League, Korean Basketball League, Chinese Basketball Association, and Taiwan’s P.League+, which all wrapped up their seasons by May—with Australia’s NBL finishing even earlier in March, the PBA only concluded its Philippine Cup Finals in late July.
“I would have loved to have more time,” Cone said. “Those two weeks in terms of preparations? Three of those days only we had a full team practice. We only had seven or eight guys, and two of whom didn’t make the Final 12.”
Out of Control
Cone and his program have been under fire for the lack of preparation time since he officially took over as Gilas’ head coach. However, the PBA’s winningest mentor clarified that if it were up to him, he would’ve ensured the national team had more time to get ready.
“These are things that are personally out of my control. We have certain parameters from which we can work, and we’re trying to do the best within those parameters,” he said.
“Our [PBA] season goes 11 months of the year. Again, if you want to change the whole culture, I would be great with that. But again, these are the parameters which we have,” Cone continued to explain his side.
However, limited time isn’t the only factor holding the squad back from reaching its full potential. Cone can only operate within the constraints of the time available, the players on hand, and the budget they have.
“It’s not only time constraints. It’s also budgetary. We don’t have a massive budget. There are certain constraints that we don’t have any control over,” Cone cited further challenges.
“I’m not the program director, I’m just a coach, and I’m not given that power. Being a coach, you work with the parameters that you are given. The bottom line is, I can’t change that. I can’t worry about what I can’t control,” he added.
Although these issues have plagued previous generations as well, they are undeniably hindering Gilas Pilipinas’ progress. Sooner or later, these challenges must be tackled to turn expectations into tangible results.
