Tim Cone didn’t sugarcoat it.
The Gilas Pilipinas head coach sat down in front of the post-game mic early Wednesday morning, August 7, with a tone that was part disappointment, part reality check. His squad had just dropped their opening game at the 2025 Fiba Asia Cup at the King Abdullah Sports City, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 95-87, to a Chinese Taipei team that came in fearless and left with a statement win.
“We didn’t punch early. And we didn’t punch back,” said big man AJ Edu, echoing Cone’s frustrations.
From the opening tip, Taipei controlled the pace and the narrative.
Chen Ying-Chun caught fire early, dropping 34 points with six threes as Chinese Taipei raced to a 27-16 first-quarter lead and never looked back.
They outshot. They out-executed. They outlasted.
“We knew how good they were,” Edu admitted. “This wasn’t about underestimating anyone. We just didn’t step up, plain and simple.”
By halftime, the Filipinos had managed to claw within four points at one stretch, but Taipei’s poise held. Gilas went into the locker room down 43-34, with Chen already halfway through what would become the best individual performance of the tournament so far.
Gilas showed flashes of fight. Scottie Thompson tallied 16 points, seven rebounds, and five assists, while Calvin Oftana chipped in with clutch plays to keep Gilas in the game.
Kevin Quiambao buried a big three late in the fourth to cut it to 80-74. But a series of fouls, including Justin Brownlee’s fifth with under five minutes left, hurt Gilas.
Brownlee, who had 19 points before fouling out, was sorely missed in the clutch.
said Cone, who remained visibly frustrated throughout the post-game presser via Fiba Media YouTube channel despite crediting his players' effort.
Taipei, composed and clinical, punished every Gilas error. Brandon Gilbeck finished with 16 points and 9 rebounds, while Robert Hinton chipped in timely buckets. Chen, though, was the undisputed star. His final dagger three — his sixth of the night — all but closed the door on the Philippine comeback.
“I feel hurt by this loss,” Cone admitted. “That’s on me. But we’ve got to move on. We can feel bad, cry about it even, but New Zealand’s next in two days.”
Cone looked back to 1985, when the Philippines still stood as a powerhouse in Asian basketball. But times have changed. He said the rest of Asia has caught up, and maybe even pulled ahead.
Gilas now drops to 0-1 in Group D and faces a must-win scenario in their next game against a physical New Zealand squad. A loss there could mean an early trip to the classification rounds. Riding high on confidence, Chinese Taipei turns its focus to Iraq, aiming to build on its strong start.
“That was a big roadblock,” Cone said. “But this team has bounced back before. I still think we’ve got a very good chance to play a better game next time out.”
As for Gilas, the next 48 hours are about regrouping. The margin for error just got smaller. But the fight, that’s far from over. MLSA