Despite securing a spot in the main draw, there will be no let up for Gilas Pilipinas when it competes in the third window of the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers on the road next month.
Gilas head coach Tim Cone wants to take advantage of the window to sharpen and further develop the chemistry of his lean lineup.
“The idea is we’re gonna use this window, hopefully, to prepare and get better for the FIBA Asia Cup,” Cone said.
The Filipino cagers are set to face host Taiwan on 20 February before flying to New Zealand for the much-anticipated rematch with the Tall Blacks on the 23rd.
Gilas swept the first two windows including a successful homestand last November against New Zealand and Hong Kong for a perfect 4-0 win-loss record. It propelled the Nationals into the tournament proper to be held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia from 5 to 17 August.
The squad will have a longer preparation this time with the ongoing Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner’s Cup taking a break by early February to give way for Gilas’ buildup.
A training camp in Doha, Qatar is also being arranged.
“There is a chance we will go to Doha before the next window for some friendlies, scheduled workout, but that’s not a hundred percent yet,” Cone said.
“That will be part of our preparation. But that’s going to happen February 10th or 11th, we might go there and do our preparation there and then come back.”
Gilas is also set to play tune-up games in Doha to gauge the team’s competitiveness and cohesion.
“The whole idea is to continue to get to know each other. We have such small windows to be together that each window is absolutely crucial to our chemistry and our ability to compete at a high level together,” the decorated mentor added.
“So, all of these games are so important to us. The friendlies are going to be important for us, learning how to go on the road and beat Taiwan, who is a completely different team this time than they were the last time, different coach, different import. They have extra players. We are expecting a big battle from Taiwan.”
Traveling to New Zealand for Gilas’ last stop in the qualifiers will also be challenging aside from the fact that the Tall Blacks are raring to avenge their 89-93 loss in Manila.
“And then they go to Auckland and play New Zealand at home, that’s going to be a real chore. All this right now is preparation for us to compete in the FIBA Asia,” Cone said.
Aside from Gilas and New Zealand, also booking their tickets in the Asia Cup are powerhouse defending champion Australia, Japan, 2022 runner-up Lebanon, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.
“We want to be able to get there and compete. There’s going to be a lot of really great teams there — Japan, China, Australia, New Zealand, the Middle Eastern teams. I’m missing somebody out there, but I know there’s going to be a lot of good teams that we are going to compete against,” Cone said.