Cone admits Gilas getting outclassed by ‘very superior’ Aussies

MANILA, Philippines — Simply superior. 

Gilas Pilipinas head coach Tim Cone conceded that Australia is just too strong and too fast for the Philippines, as they got booted out of the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup. 

Gilas bowed out of the regional tournament after absorbing an 84-60 beating against the Boomers Wednesday evening (Manila time).

Australia started the game off waxing hot from rainbow country and buried the Philippines under a very deep hole.

The Nationals were limited to a shooting clip of 22-of-69, good for 31.9%, while their opponents made 32-of-75 shots, or 42.7%.

At the same time, Australia hauled down 57 rebounds, including 19 offensive boards, compared to Gilas’ 36 total rebounds. 

After the game, Cone said that Australia is simply “very superior.” 

“I didn't like our performance tonight. I didn't think we stepped up as much as we wanted to. No doubt the Australian athleticism and length… Even though you see it on video, when you get up there and start playing against it and on the court, you realize that they're very superior,” he told reporters during the postgame press conference.

“And so we just had a hard time staying in front of them. We had a hard time challenging their threes and they moved the ball really well. And they got up shots quick. They played at a really good pace. We were trying to keep it at a slower pace, but we just didn't have enough discipline to do that throughout the game,” he added.

Naturalized player Justin Brownlee was also checked, as he finished with just 10 points on 3-of-7 shooting. He added four assists and three rebounds but posted a team-worst +- of -23.

“Australia happened, you know, again, they defended extremely well. They're very, very athletic. They're quick to the ball. A couple of times when we were able to actually get by guys, they were able to collapse and get a blocked shot,” Cone said. 

“We weren't getting the ball inside. And so we tried to live off the perimeter. And that's never going to be that successful. You're going to live totally off the perimeter, then you're just relying on trying to shoot the ball well. And sometimes you shoot them well. Sometimes you don't. And today we didn’t.” 

In the game, Gilas made just eight of their 33 attempts from beyond the arc. 

Aside from Brownlee, Dwight Ramos also struggled. While Ramos finished with 15 points and seven rebounds, he shot just 7-of-22 from the floor.

The only other Gilas player who finished in double digits was Kevin Quiambao, who scored a team-high 17 points to go with four rebounds and four assists. He shot 6-of-10 from the field, being the only other Filipino to make at least half his shot attempts aside from Scottie Thompson, who finished with five points on a 2-of-4 clip.

“We tried to do some things, but it didn't work for us. You know, we tried to keep the game under a certain type of tempo. We tried to get it into more of an execution type game rather than an up and down. And they just overwhelmed that idea. We couldn't do it,” Cone said. 

“And so at some point, we tried to match them pace for pace, and they just overwhelmed us. So again, they started off real well, made their first three threes and jumped on a lead, and we played from our heels the rest of the game. So it's always tough to be in that situation. But you know, I just, I think that we could have played better and we didn't tonight.” 

Quiambao, for his part, underscored that the team had a hard time catching up after Australia’s searing start. 

“The system was not there. Our shots were not falling. So for me as a young gun here, as much as I want is to execute the system, follow the game plan, but it didn't work the whole game,” the 24-year-old Quiambao said. 

Australia thus punched a ticket to the tournament semifinals, where it will face Iran. 

Also on Wednesday, Iran stormed back from as much as 21 points against Chinese Taipei to grab a semis berth-clinching 78-75 victory.