HANGZHOU – Tim Cone gets another crack at China 25 years after playing against it in the Asian Games.
The path towards the Great Wall was sealed after Tuesday’s quarterfinal round where Gilas Pilipinas and the Chinese pulled off contrasting wins against separate opponents.
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The Filipinos had to repel a furious fourth quarter uprising by Iran to pull off an 84-83 win, while the Chinese, the reigning Asiad champion, cruised to an 84-70 victory over South Korea.
“As much as we would like to have a prettier win, we’ll take any win at this point," said Cone after dodging the Iranian bullet.
Now he’s staring at Team Dragon once again, the very same unit that denied him and the Philippine Centennial Team a shot at the gold during the 1998 Asiad in Bangkok, Thailand.
“I played China in the semis also,” noted Cone of the similar situation he faces now and 25 years ago.
Bannered by future NBA players Wang Zhi Zhi and Mengke Bateer, the Chinese drubbed a Philippine side that featured PBA MVPs Johnny Abarrientos, Vergel Meneses, Alvin Patrimonio, Kenneth Duremdes, Allan Caidic, among others, 82-73, that relegated the Filipinos to the battle for the bronze.
The Filipinos did reach the podium by beating Kazakhstan, 73-68.
But that was a long time ago. Calvin Oftana, the second youngest in the current Gilas roster, was barely two years old when the national team last won a medal in the Asiad.
“It’s a whole new ballgame right now,” noted Cone.
But like before, the Gilas coach expects a dandy playing against the region’s powerhouse and right before its legion of fans no less.
Truth is, the basketball landscape in the Asiad had changed through the course of time, according to Cone, that now China is not the only one that stands as major threat.
“Twenty five years ago, different teams, different people, the teams had gotten so much better,” he said.
“I tell you what. In 1998 we never even thought about Iran, we’ll just beat them up and then go on to the next game. Iran is really that good. Jordan is another team that we wouldn’t bother with, we would have beat them easy in 1998. Teams had all gotten better and it’s a struggle this time out.”
But hopefully, it’s a different ending for Cone and the national team.
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