By REYNALD MAGALLON
Back when Gilas Pilipinas was wrapping up its preparations for the first window of the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers, head coach Tim Cone pleaded for patience and support from the Filipino fans as the newly formed national team was still trying to find its identity.
He said that the team, still soul searching and laying out the foundations for the future, wouldn’t be as great as people immediately wanted them to be.
The fans, who were the biggest critics of the past Gilas programs, seemed to finally understand what it takes to form a team.
They even heaved the call for support and made their presence felt as the National fought through a shaky start before pulling away with a resounding 95-65 road win over Hong Kong
“I thought we came out a little tentative. But in the second half, I thought we kinda relaxed a little bit, played better, defended better, and got a little bit of a run. Our crowd helped us gain some momentum and we were lucky to get a run and take it through,” said Cone noting the presence of a loud and good-sized Filipino crowd inside the venue.
Like what Cone said, Gilas did play a little sloppy in the first half even allowing Hong Kong, ranked way lower than the Nationals, to take a brief lead in the second frame.
But the Filipinos made the adjustments in the second half and pulled away behind a 30-9 third quarter much to the delight of the Filipino crowd in attendance.
“We know they spent their hard-earned money to watch the game. We truly appreciate them. I thought they were the reasons we came out there in the second half, made some nice plays, and they really got cheering hard and it kinda lifted our spirits and we got some momentum. That keyed our runaway in the third quarter,” added the veteran mentor.
Gilas, in return, made sure to treat the Filipino fans with a solid showing highlighted by their good passing game after recording 33 assists in 37 field goals.
Justin Brownlee and Jamie Malonzo provided the outside sniping while Kai Sotto showed off with a couple of thunderous jams off nifty passes from Chris Newsome and Scottie Thompson.
“We’ve seen this through the World Cup and everywhere we’ve gone. We always travel very well because we always have fans. And that’s a big advantage that we have with the other teams. No matter where we play, there’s a crowd that is behind us and cheering,” added Cone.
