GILAS Pilipinas coach Tim Cone said there remains a lot of room for improvement after their first tuneup game before the fourth window of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 Asian Qualifiers.
READ: Gilas Pilipinas beats KBL team Ulsan in tuneup game
The national team beat Korean Basketball League (KBL) side Ulsan Hyundai, 81-76, on Thursday at the San Miguel Corp. (SMC) Gym in Pasig City.
More importantly for Cone, the game showed just what what finetuning still needs to be done in the coming days.
“We won a close game,” he said after the game. “We didn’t play well, but the game gave us a good indication of where we are and how far we have to go to get ready."
The tuneup was the first time Kai Sotto played in game situation with the national team since his last appearance with Gilas against Hong Kong last November 24, 2024 in the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers.
The Filipinos still have eight days to prepare before they go up against Jordan on August 28 at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Afterwards, Gilas only has one day to gear up for its next contest in the qualifiers against Iran on August 30, an equally important match in its bid to get back to the World Cup following three successive appearances.
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