Gilas turns focus to familiar foes as Tim Cone eyes homecourt edge vs New Zealand, Australia

Fresh off a confident 2–0 start in the FIBA Basketball World Cup Asian Qualifiers, Gilas Pilipinas is already turning the page—toward two opponents who have become all too familiar, and who will define the direction of their qualifying campaign.

The sweep of Guam gave the Philippines early momentum, but the real test comes in February and March, when Gilas faces New Zealand (Feb 26) and Australia (Mar 1) at the Mall of Asia Arena. For head coach Tim Cone, preparation has to start long before tip-off.

“It’s a long ways away still but we have our eyes on it,” Cone said, acknowledging that scouting and anticipation can’t wait for 2026.

Gilas’ next two opponents have already shown their own readiness. Australia and New Zealand recently clashed twice — tight, gritty matchups where the Boomers won 84–79 in Hobart and 79–77 in Wellington. With both squads now at 2–0, they sit atop Group A alongside the Philippines.

For Gilas, the rivalry with New Zealand has grown over the past year. They saw the Tall Blacks multiple times across the FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers and the tournament proper, with New Zealand taking a 2–1 edge in those meetings. 

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Mission accomplished in Window 1 for Gilas Pilipinas, who roll past Guam to go 2-0 in the #FIBAWC Asian Qualifiers #StepItUpGilas pic.twitter.com/9n9yXNqXV4

— FIBA Basketball World Cup (@FIBAWC) December 1, 2025

Australia, meanwhile, dealt Gilas one of its toughest losses of 2025 — an 84–60 defeat in the Asia Cup quarterfinals.

These battles have built a familiarity Cone believes could help—though only if paired with composure and homecourt energy.

Facing world No. 6 Australia and world No. 25 New Zealand is daunting, but Cone hopes that fighting on home soil will tilt something—anything—into Gilas’ favor.

“We know New Zealand pretty well. We played them a number of times. We played Australia in the Asia Cup. We know what’s ahead of us. We know it’s not going to be easy, but we’re hoping that playing at home, that’ll make a difference for us,” he said.

But the opening window already taught them a lesson: home games come with pressure, too.

Against Guam, Gilas had to shake off a sluggish start and withstand a chippy, determined opponent that refused to repeat its blowout loss from their game in Guam.

Cone took the Guam performance as both a warning and a reminder.

“[Against Guam] was a little difficult because we beat them by a large margin there in Guam. We knew they were going to come back and play with a level of desperation. That’s a given. They played really, really well. All we did was kind of hold them off.”

If Gilas is to steal wins against two of the region’s powerhouses, they will need the same resilience Guam showed—only amplified by home support and months of deliberate preparation.

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