WHEN New Zealand released its 12-man roster for the February window of the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 qualifiers recently, Gilas Pilipinas coach Tim Cone admitted he wasn’t too aware of the news since his focus was with Barangay Ginebra’s quarterfinal campaign in the PBA 49th Season Commissioner’s Cup.
Even so, Cone already expects a tough game from the Tall Blacks after they lost to Gilas Pilipinas last November.
“I’m sure they are,” said Cone, when reporters informed that the Tall Blacks are bringing in their top players for their home match in Auckland against Gilas Pilipinas on February 23.
“I haven’t seen it. I’ve been getting so locked into Meralco and trying to win this series first,” added Cone on Sunday shortly after the Gin Kings completed their series win over the Bolts in Game 3.
Cone’s full focus will now be on Gilas Pilipinas with the team now at the Inspire Sports Academy in Calamba, Laguna for a brief training camp before heading over to Qatar for the 2nd Doha International Cup where they will go up against Egypt, Lebanon, and Qatar.
Gilas Pilipinas will still have a game against Chinese Taipei on February 20 where the Nationals are also expected to get themselves locked in in their bid for a best finish possible.
Regardless of the result of the Chinese Taipei game, the battle for the top spot in Group B will be at stake in the Philippines against New Zealand clash.
The Philippines is at first in the group with a 4-0 record, followed by New Zealand with a 3-1 mark. Taking the top spot in the group would improve the chances of a favorable draw come the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 in August to be held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Reuben Te Rangi, Jordan Ngatai, and Tohi Smith-Milner are among the New Zealand players that have been called up for the February window that didn’t see action in the November clash which the Philippines won, 93-89, at the Mall of Asia Arena.
READ: Gilas Pilipinas beats New Zealand Tall Blacks
Cone said Gilas Pilipinas has a lot of time to prepare for the two matches including the Tall Blacks.
“Luckily, we don’t play New Zealand for another eight or 10 days so we get some warm-up games before that,” said Cone.
Unfortunately, Gilas Pilipinas will not be playing with Kai Sotto in the New Zealand match-up after sustaining an ACL tear in the B.League that will kept him out for at least nine months.
Sotto had his best scoring performance for Gilas Pilipinas in his Asia Cup qualifiers by scoring 19 points, while also tallying 10 rebounds, seven assists, two steals and two blocks against the Tall Blacks.
“The only thing we regret, we don’t have Kai,” said Cone. “Kai is a huge difference maker, particularly in the way we play in our system so that’s going to hurt.”
In also looking at the bigger picture, the New Zealand game will be part of the Philippines’ preparation for the FIBA Asia Cup where there will be more formidable teams to face.
Cone said the stronger the teams they will be facing, the better for Gilas in the long run.
“We have some time and we’ll prepare. New Zealand is playing at home. Just like us, we want to protect our own court. They are going to want to protect their home court. It’s going to be a huge challenge for us to go out there and play. It’s going to be huge for our preparation as we go playing a high-level team like that as we go into FIBA Asia later on,” said Cone.
"We want them to bring their best team and they have that challenge. So we'll see what happens."
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