Gilas Pilipinas coach Tim Cone unmoved by close call after loss to New Zealand

There was no search for silver linings inside the SM Mall of Asia Arena locker room Thursday night — only accountability.

Despite a late surge that nearly flipped the script, Gilas Pilipinas walked away with a 66-69 loss to the New Zealand men’s national basketball team in the second window of the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers, surrendering its unbeaten start in front of the home crowd.

For head coach Tim Cone, coming close simply wasn’t enough.

“I’m not going to sit here and pretend that I’m happy with our performance. The bottom line is we’re not going to feel good or take pride in the fact that we got close or we almost won,” Coach Tim Cone said.

“Bottom line is we’re here to win, and we didn’t do that,” the coach of Gilas added.

The Nationals trailed most of the night but showed urgency when it mattered. Five points in the final minute, capped with 8.1 seconds remaining, pulled Gilas within striking distance at 66-68.

After Reuben Te Rangi split his free throws to push the lead to three, Dwight Ramos launched a desperate heave from near half court. The ball caught iron and bounced away, sealing Gilas’ first defeat.

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Gilas Pilipinas coach Tim Cone: “We’re not gonna take pride in keeping close. We showed up to win and we didn’t do that today.” | @jonasterradoINQ

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Justin Brownlee, often Gilas’ offensive anchor, was limited to just four points, though he contributed across the stat sheet with six rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block. Early stability instead came from Cjay Perez, who scored the team’s first 10 points and finished with 15 points and eight rebounds to keep the Nationals afloat.

Inside, Quentin Millora-Brown and AJ Edu provided muscle and presence, a bright spot Cone acknowledged even in disappointment.

“There were certain parts of the game where I thought we did well. We defended well. We competed on the board. I thought our big guys, Q and AJ played real well,” Cone said.

“I hate saying that we didn’t make shots because there is more to the game than just making shots. That’s an easy explanation. But if you are saying that, just because you are not getting good shots, and we didn’t get the shots that we wanted.

We didn’t get the flow that we wanted. Credit goes to them because they defended well as well.”

New Zealand dictated that rhythm or lack of it. Their defense disrupted Gilas’ preferred flow, forcing difficult attempts and limiting transition opportunities.

For Cone, the message moving forward is clear that the progress is measured in wins, not in how close a loss feels.

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