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Fresh from a stinging loss to Chinese Taipei in its FIBA Asia Cup opener, Gilas Pilipinas faces a daunting task of beating a New Zealand side that won bronze in the 2022 edition
MANILA, Philippines – Gilas Pilipinas’ mettle will be tested as it shoots for its first FIBA Asia Cup win against consistently dangerous New Zealand at the King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Thursday, August 7.
Fresh from a stinging 95-87 loss to Chinese Taipei in its tournament opener, the Philippines faces a daunting task of beating a Tall Blacks side that won the bronze in the 2022 edition.
Confidence is at a high for the Kiwis after their 100-78 manhandling of Iraq, with the world No. 22 New Zealand coming in as the favorite to top Group D.
Gilas head coach Tim Cone, though, has faith in his charges.
“This team has shown a lot of bounce back in the past and I think we have a really, really good chance of coming out and playing a better, better game our next time out,” said Cone.
Defeating New Zealand is no longer a remote possibility as the Filipinos beat the Tall Blacks for the first time in FIBA play by way of a stunning 93-89 win in the second window of the Asia Cup Qualifiers in November.
But the Philippines has been on a FIBA slump since.
Gilas suffered an 87-70 drubbing from New Zealand to end the Asia Cup Qualifiers and its loss to Chinese Taipei in the Asia Cup marked its third straight in FIBA competition.
Cone said the only thing his side can do is move on.
“We can feel bad about this one as much as we want. We can cry about it even. But the bottomline is we got New Zealand coming up… and we got to get ready for them,” Cone said.
Game time is 11 pm. – Rappler.com
