FOLLOWING its monumental win over New Zealand on Thursday, Gilas Pilipinas returns to the court on Sunday when it faces a relatively-lighter opponent in Hong Kong in the continuation of the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 qualifiers at the Mall of Asia Arena.
But even before the preparation began for the Philippines in the window, head coach Tim Cone already warned that Hong Kong should not be taken lightly.
“We are going to be probably the favorites, maybe even heavy favorites against Hong Kong, but we certainly can’t take Hong Kong for granted,” Cone said during a press conference days before they entered the Inspire Sports Academy for their brief training camp.
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There is reason to take the match seriously since a win over Hong Kong will enable the Philippines to book a spot in the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
The Philippines is fresh from a landmark win over world No. 22 New Zealand, 93-89, last Thursday, its first victory over the Tall Blacks in FIBA competitions in front of 11,686 fans at the Mall of Asia Arena to take the top spot in Group B with a 3-0 win-loss slate.
Aside from the morale-boosting victory over New Zealand, Gilas Pilipinas already defeated Hong Kong in their first round encounter in the qualifiers, beating them on their home court, 94-64, last February 22.
Cone emphasized the need to win as many games as possible in the Asia qualifiers and its importance to the Gilas Pilipinas program.
“These games are important because they give us the higher seeds in the FIBA Asia which will be played in Jeddah in August,” Cone said.
“We certainly want to show out. We said from the beginning that we want to compete in the international level but we want to win in Asia.”
Hong Kong remains winless entering its tussle against the Philippines after it lost to Chinese Taipei, 88-55, in Taipei last Thursday.
“New Zealand is part of (FIBA) Asia. Hong Kong, obviously, is part of Asia. This is really important for us to show up and show out when we play against Asian teams,” said Cone.
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