By REYNALD MAGALLON
Gilas Pilipinas head coach Tim Cone took full accountability for the national team’s shocking 91-84 loss to Chinese Taipei, admitting that he could have prepared the team better against their much-improved counterpart.
The veteran coach took to social media on Friday, Feb. 21, to air his disappointment to the upset loss.
“No one feels worse about this devastating loss than I do, and I take full ownership of it,” said Cone who acknowledged the huge improvement of Chinese Taipei especially with the addition of Mohammad Al Bachir Gadiaga and Brandon Gilbeck – two players that were not on the team during Gilas’ 106-53 win in their first meeting.
“We knew they were going to be much improved from the last time we played them, but they were even better than we thought. That’s on me. No doubt, I should have prepared us better,” he added.
The concerns about Gilas’ offensive struggles during the trip in Doha also rang true as the Nationals once again suffered a series of dry spells in the game that allowed the hosts to create double-digit leads and keep the Filipinos on catch-up.
Justin Brownlee was left to carry the fight for Gilas with 39 points, eight assists and five rebounds while only a total of six players made it to the scoring column.
Gilas also seemed to be still adjusting in the absence of big man Kai Sotto as the squad struggled on both ends of the floor. Without the 7-foot-3 center, the Filipinos lost a constant threat that draws double-team while anchoring the triangle on the offensive end.
AJ Edu and June Mar Fajardo were also getting attacked when they try to close out against Chinese Taipei’s five-out offense – something that Sotto could have prevented with his elite rim protection.
Still, even without the ace center, Cone said he could have done a lot more things to help the team cope up to his absence and adjust to what Chinese Taipei was doing against them.
“There is obviously a lot that I would have done differently in that game if given another chance, but that is not possible now. Only thing we can do at this point is move on,” said Cone.
Although all is not lost for the Filipinos as the game was practically no bearing as they are already secured of a spot in the FIBA Asia Cup main event in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia in August, Cone vowed Gilas will bounce back from the setback.
“I will be better. We will be better,” he added.
