GiILAS Pilipinas head coach Tim Cone said they have no time to celebrate its dominant 109-78 victory over Kazakhstan as the team immediately turns its attention to China in the 2026 Asian Games.
Cone welcomed the strong response from Gilas following its narrow loss to Bahrain in the opening game, but stressed that the team must quickly shift its focus to the next challenge.
“Now it’s time to move on and focus on China. No time to celebrate,” Cone said in a Viber message to Fastbreak on Saturday night.
The Philippines delivered the performance Cone had hoped to see from his squad, playing at a fast pace while defending aggressively throughout the game.
“We played the way the staff originally envisioned this team to play. They played loose and fast and defended at a high level,” he said.
Cone credited assistant coach Richard del Rosario and the coaching staff for preparing the team well and managing the game effectively.
“Coach Richard and the staff did a great job preparing for the game, and then Richard managed the game perfectly,” Cone said.
Robert Bolick also played through the knee injury he suffered during warmups against Bahrain and produced a strong 20-point performance. Jerrick Ahanmisi then helped put the game away in the fourth period, leading the team with 22.
“Berto shook off his injury and played a great second quarter and Jerrick put Kazakhstan to sleep in the 4th quarter,” Cone said.
Despite the individual highlights, Cone described the victory as a complete team effort, with every player making a contribution.
“But mostly, it was a great team win where everyone contributed,” he said.
Gilas improved to 1-1 in Group C and will face China in its final preliminary-round game on Sept. 14. (Adrian Co)
