After losses to Australia and New Zealand in the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers, coach Tim Cone plans to adjust Gilas Pilipinas' offense to improve their shooting. The team struggled with three-point shooting, averaging just 25% across four games. Cone emphasized the need to generate better quality shots.
In Manila, Philippines, Gilas Pilipinas faced challenges during their homestand in the second window of the FIBA World Cup 2027 Asian Qualifiers. On March 1, they fell 93-66 to world No. 6 Australia, following a narrow 69-66 loss to world No. 25 New Zealand three days earlier. This left them with a 2-2 record in Group A.
While the Philippines' defense held firm—limiting New Zealand to its lowest scoring game in the qualifiers and Australia to 38 points in the first half—the offense struggled, particularly from beyond the arc. Against New Zealand, they made 7 of 37 three-pointers (19%), and versus Australia, 9 of 31 (29%). Across four games, they averaged 25% from long distance.
“It’s back to the drawing board for me a little bit,” Cone said on March 1. “I think we’re going to have to look a little bit at our offense and maybe try to simplify things a little more.”
He noted the team has shooters like Dwight Ramos, Juan Gomez de Liaño, Justin Brownlee, Kevin Quiambao, and Calvin Oftana. “We got shooters... It’s just that we’re not generating the shots that we want to generate,” he added. “It’s not about the shots going in or out. It’s about getting the quality of shots... so that we can get a little bit more open looks.”
“But I don’t think there’s a problem with our shooting. We just haven’t shot the ball that well.”
In the third window in July, Gilas will face the same teams again on the road. “[Losing] at home, it’s painful. We had higher hopes and it didn’t work out for us. But we’re going to look forward to July,” Cone said, expressing hope for the team's return with 'renewed fire'.
