It’s you again
Dropping its first two games left Gilas Pilipinas with no other choice but to face Australia earlier than it had hoped for after its dramatic entry into the quarterfinals of the Fiba Asia Cup in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
But if there’s anything coach Tim Cone learned from his team in the two games that followed defeats at the hands of Chinese-Taipei and New Zealand was that Gilas always finds ways to get the results they need.
“[Australia] is pretty much the No. 1 seed in the tournament, and for us to beat them it would be an upset,” Cone said as Gilas tries to do the unthinkable on Wednesday at a much-friendlier start for fans back home: 7 p.m. Philippine time.
“But beating Iraq, and the way we won over Saudi Arabia has supplied us with some momentum,” added Cone. “Hopefully, we can carry that into [the] Australia [game].”
The meeting will also dredge up memories of a dark past for both teams as Gilas and Australia square off for the first time since the ugly brawl during the Fiba World Cup Asian Qualifiers at Philippine Arena in July 2018.
Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas president Al Panlilio said in a Management Association of the Philippines event in May that things have since been rosy between the two sides, with counterpart Basketball Australia even expressing its excitement over hosting Gilas in the World Cup Qualifiers that starts later this year.
Gilas and Australia are in the same group with New Zealand and Guam.
“That was in the past. We understand that and we have learned from that,” Panlilio told reporters then. “We just play basketball and that’s what we have to focus on.”
Gilas will be a massive underdog against Australia, which has never lost since making its Asia Cup debut in 2017. The Boomers ruled that edition in Lebanon and the following tournament in Jakarta three years ago.
Australia swept Group A in convincing fashion, defeating South Korea, Lebanon and Qatar behind the play of Jaylin Galloway, who is averaging 18 points, three rebounds, 1.7 assists and 2.3 steals.
The Philippines earned the right to face Australia after a 95-88 overtime win over Saudi Arabia highlighted by Justin Brownlee’s game-tying three with 3.7 seconds left in regulation.
Kevin Quiambao may have solidified his place in Cone’s rotation following an energetic 17-point output, including two threes in the extension that completed Gilas’ triumph.
Gilas had high hopes going into the tournament and maybe facing Australia in the later rounds. The losses to Chinese-Taipei and New Zealand, though, forced them to take the harder road.
“We didn’t expect to play them this early,” said Cone. “Losing the first two games of the tournament got us here. But we figured that if we’re going to do something special, we have to go through Australia at some point.
“And now that it’s here in front of us, we’re gonna do our best to get at them.”
