Kai Sotto-less Gilas Pilipinas faces Tall Blacks and Boomers in Asian Qualifiers for FIBA World Cup

UP AGAINST formidable opponents New Zealand (NZ) and Australia, Gilas Pilipinas is banking on that powerful instinct as it makes its stand to protect our turf.

“I think that is really, really important to them. They want to show out well in the country, in front of their fans,” Gilas coach Tim Cone said in the Power and Play program on Cignal.

“And there’s always a certain pride about playing at home and so that makes this particular window extremely important to these guys. I think they’re really keyed up and ready to go,” he added.

The Nationals face the two titans back-to-back in the second window of the Asian Qualifiers for the FIBA World Cup — the Tall Blacks on Thursday and the Boomers on Sunday.

Both gigs are slated at the SM MOA Arena, giving Mr. Cone’s charges the benefit of having their “Sixth Man” in this acid test that comes after their two-game sweep of lightweight Guam in the opening window of Group A.

The Tall Blacks dropped their first two matches in the Qualifiers against the Aussies, making them motivated to get their bid on track. Moreso, there’s the revenge factor considering Gilas dealt the Tall Blacks an 89-93 stunner the last time they played at the Pasay venue in 2024 at the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers.

Even without Kai Sotto, one of the main heroes of that celebrated upset at home, Mr. Cone expressed confidence his crew can go toe-to-toe with their fancied rivals.

“They’re (NZ) no doubt one of the top teams in our region, always have been. We feel we can compete with them. But we, you know, we have to be at the top of our game,” he said.

“You can’t play subpar against them, a team like that, and expect to win. We have to be at the top of our game. And that’s where we’re hoping to be by the end of this week.”

Except for the 7-foot-3 Mr. Sotto, who is expected to be back in harness in the third window in July, and Jamie Malonzo, who is in the US, everybody in Mr. Cone’s 15-man pool is ready for active duty. This includes Quentin Millora-Brown, who finally rejoined the squad on Saturday, and Justine Baltazar, who impressed in his first sessions as newest member of the pool. — Olmin Leyba