Head coach Tim Cone insists that while the pocket tournament in Doha may have slowed down Gilas Pilipinas, it remains a vital part of their buildup for the FIBA Asia Cup in August as the country reels from four straight losses, including two Chinese-Taipei and New Zealand in the qualifiers.

Coming off an 87-70 loss to the Kiwis at the Spark Arena in Auckland, Cone defended the squad’s participation in the Middle East.

“We were trying to look at a bigger picture in terms of the FIBA Asia coming up because we know we’re not going to have much time to prepare for that tournament,” said Cone, whose team wound up second spot in Group with a 4-2 win-loss card and behind New Zealand with a 5-1 ledger.

“These windows are so short, we’re together so little. We were able to do a Doha trip before we came here just to try to get more time together and play more games and it probably hurt us more than it helped us in terms of being ready for Taiwan and New Zealand.”

A draw will be held soon to determine the groups.

Cone said they would have to come up with adjustments as 7-foot-3 big man Kai Sotto won’t be with them in time for the Asia Cup.

Sotto was sidelined due to an anterior cruciate ligament injury he sustained while playing in the Japan B.League last January and was present during Gilas’ four-game winning streak in the Asia Cup qualifiers.

“We lost a key player for a year in terms of Kai Sotto. So we’re still trying to adjust how to play without him. That’s the things we’re gonna be talking about and thinking about as we go into the FIBA Asia Cup,” Cone said.

“This was important for seeding, so we really wanted to get that seeding. But that’s now going to go to New Zealand. We’re going to have a tougher road through that Cup. That’s uppermost in our minds as well.”

The Philippines looks to do better in the Asia Cup after bowing out of the playoff round in 2022 in Indonesia.