If there’s one thing head coach Tim Cone and the rest of Gilas Pilipinas learned from their painful loss back at home against New Zealand five months ago, it is not to get into a shootout.

Gilas has a lot of gunners — so do the Tall Blacks.

What Cone wants in the Philippines’ 2027 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifier third-window rematch against New Zealand is to play great defense and not rely solely on outshooting the host team on its home turf today at the Spark Arena in Auckland.

“We’ve got to hold them down so that we can have a chance to win,” Cone said.

Defense will be the key to Gilas’ attempt to end a two-game slide in the all-important 3 p.m. (Manila time) encounter with the Kiwis.

“We’re not going to get into shootouts with these guys. We’re not going to win doing shootouts,” the Gilas tactician added.

The Filipinos march into battle with a much better buildup than the previous window. Gilas had a four-day training camp in Brisbane, Australia and routed two local clubs in a couple of friendlies.

“So, you know, we base our team on being a great defensive team. So, we want our guys to come out and really lock in the defense. And we think that takes pressure off our offense,” Cone said.

Gilas and New Zealand are tied in second place with 2-2 win-loss records behind Group A leader Australia, which has yet to drop a game in four outings. Guam is winless in four starts.

Gilas saw its two-game winning streak snapped by New Zealand in a 66-69 second window loss last 26 February at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Three days later, the Pinoy cagers were humiliated by the visiting Australians, 66-93, at the same Pasay venue.

For Gilas, getting payback over the Tall Blacks, or, if possible, completing a road sweep with a victory in Perth against the Boomers on 6 July, will have huge implications for its campaign for a fourth straight appearance on the world stage.

Cone has emphasized the importance of a road win or two to better the Filipinos’ chances of booking a ticket for next year’s basketball showpiece in Doha.

Only the top three teams after the group stage will advance to the carryover record second round, with the 12 squads to be divided into two groups. Each team plays against the three teams in their group that they haven’t faced yet.

The top three teams in each group and the best fourth-place team qualify for the World Cup, alongside host Qatar.

Gilas is in a precarious situation as losses in the final window will put the squad in an uphill battle in the second round against the taller and more physical Middle Eastern teams like Jordan, Iran and Syria.

Group C is currently led by unbeaten Jordan (4-0) followed by Iran (3-1), Syria (1-3) and Iraq (0-4).

“If we don’t win one of these next two games, then we’re going to have a very small margin of error as we move forward to the next round,” Cone said.

“It’s almost like we’re going to [have to] sweep the next round, and that’s really difficult with high-quality teams like Iran, Jordan,” Cone added.

“So, it would really help us out if we can win one of these next two games, and that would give us more margins of error as we move forward to the next round.”

Cone tweaked his lineup, putting a premium on youth and mobility by tapping athletic forward Mike Phillips and agile big man Justine Baltazar. The duo will play key roles in the battle down low with 7-foot-3 Kai Sotto and 6-foot-11 Quentin Millora-Brown unavailable.

Do-it-all forward Justin Brownlee is also back to lead Cone’s crew alongside Chris Newsome, RJ Abarrientos, AJ Edu, Carl Tamayo, Kevin Quiambao, Dwight Ramos, June Mar Fajardo and Juan Gomez de Liaño.     

“I think we’re going to come back with renewed fire,” Cone said.

Six-foot-9 Sam Mennenga, who torched Gilas with a double-double of 10 points and 14 rebounds in their last meeting, is back to lead the home team.

Also making their return for the Tall Blacks are Taylor Britt, Carlin Davison, Taine Murray, Jordan Ngatai, Tohi Smith-Milner, Reuben Te Rangi and Sam Timmins.

New Zealand coach Judd Flavell is also packing a surprise for Gilas with the key additions of Mojave King, Sam Waardenberg and veteran guards Shea Ili and Tai Webster.