Gilas Pilipinas head coach Tim Cone praised his players after a hard-fought 93-89 comeback victory over the New Zealand Tall Blacks in the Fiba Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers at the Mall of Asia Arena on Thursday night, November 21, 2024. The win ended an eight-year, four-game losing streak to New Zealand and preserved Gilas’ spotless 3-0 record across two qualifying windows.
Cone acknowledged New Zealand’s toughness in the post-game press conference, which was live-streamed via the FIBA Media YouTube channel.
Cone, in a post-game press conference live-streamed via the Fiba Media YouTube channel, acknowledged New Zealand's toughness and physicality throughout the game. "They are good, really good. They are very physical and I think that was the number one thing we had to battle through," he said, commending June Mar Fajardo and Kai Sotto’s defensive presence and Justin Brownlee’s offensive contributions.
"They rotated two almost three guys on them and just banged them all game long. So to overcome that and find a way to win was really special - especially because of our home court, our home crowd, and the people watching. I had so much good luck today. I can't tell you how many good luck I had before the game and throughout the day. There was a lot of attention on the game and our guys were pressured to win, they found a way, and I'm proud of them," Cone said.
Backed by 11,686 roaring fans, Gilas Pilipinas' emotional win marked a turning point for the Filipino squad, ending years of heartbreak in the same venue where their struggles began.
Brownlee led the charge with a spectacular 26-point, 11-rebound performance, adding four assists, two steals, and two blocks for a stellar efficiency 36. Sotto complemented him with 19 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists, punctuated by a clutch block on Taylor Britt’s potential game-tying layup in the final seconds.
Brownlee’s calm free throws with 11.1 seconds left sealed the victory, while Scottie Thompson and Chris Newsome provided critical contributions down the stretch.
Newsome hit a crucial three-pointer to give Gilas a 91-84 lead with just over a minute remaining, then delivered a pivotal defensive stop to keep the Tall Blacks at bay. Dwight Ramos added 11 points and six rebounds, contributing to a game-changing 16-0 run in the third quarter that turned the tide for the hosts.
Sotto said, "It was a really good game. They really challenged us and it was a great 40-minute game. It was very competitive from the start to end. I just want to give credit to my teammates for fighting `til the end."
"New Zealand is a really good team and I'm happy that we prepared really well for this and we just wanted to protect our home court. I'm happy we got the win and hopefully, we get another one on Sunday against Hong Kong," he added during the press conference.
Cone acknowledged New Zealand's exceptional three-point shooting, hitting 18-of-35 from deep, but credited Gilas for their resilience in securing the win.