Gilas Pilipinas coach Tim Cone throughout a Fiba OQT Riga recreation towards world No. 6 Latvia. –FIBA BASKETBALL
MANILA, Philippines — Even Gilas Pilipinas coach Tim Cone was shocked with how his workforce pulled off a large upset towards world No.6 Latvia within the opener of their Fiba Olympic Qualifying Match (OQT) marketing campaign.
Gilas Pilipinas, led by Justin Brownlee and massive males June Mar Fajardo and Kai Sotto, by no means wavered towards one of many world’s finest groups because it shocked Latvia with a wire-to-wire 89-80 win in entrance of the huge dwelling crowd on Thursday (Manila Time) in Riga.
It was the nation’s first towards a European workforce since beating Spain within the 1960 Rome Olympics. And Cone was in awe of how the Filipinos overcame the daunting job, pouncing on the absence of Latvia star Arturs Zagars and limiting the house workforce to 27-of-72 taking pictures by way of their regular protection and masterful run of the triangle offense.
SCHEDULE: Gilas Pilipinas at Fiba OQT in Riga, Latvia
“I’m completely shocked to be sitting right here in entrance of you guys after profitable this basketball recreation,” Cone stated within the postgame press convention.
“This isn’t one thing we thought we had been gonna do, I’ll be sincere with you, we wished to come back in and compete and actually placed on present. We acquired began early. We made pictures early. Then, fortunately, Latvia missed pictures and likewise Zagars didn’t play.”
🇵🇭 Gilas Pilipinas upset Latvia and declare their first win towards European opposition in an official FIBA competitors since 1960! #FIBAOQT pic.twitter.com/hwhSkvMTP1
— FIBA (@FIBA) July 3, 2024
Cone lauded the protection of his squad, which helped them pull off the stunner together with the massive pictures of Brownlee down the stretch, limiting NBA participant Davis Bertans to only 10 factors on 2-of-8 taking pictures.
“Bought to credit score our guys and their protection. We had been doing our greatest making an attempt to defend all people,” stated the Gilas coach. “We had been clearly very, very acutely aware of him (Bertans). We performed him with a smaller man who might be faster. You have a look at our line-up, our massive man needed to exit and guard (Rodion)Kurucs. We put our massive man on Kurucs and saved a smaller man on Bertans.”
READ: Gilas Pilipinas stuns world No. 6 Latvia to open Fiba OQT bid
“However the man (Bertans) nonetheless makes some unbelievable pictures… Watching him in Georgia, after which we had been going by way of all of the movies, we had been getting ready for him. The pictures he makes are simply phenomenal. You simply have to carry your breath and hope he misses. We attempt to slide into him after which hope and pray that he would miss. And tonight, he missed, went in our favor,” he added.
Cone attributed their massive win to the Filipino followers again dwelling, who stayed late which the sport beginning at midnight Thursday in Philippine time, to indicate their assist by watching their first OQT recreation.
‘Principally Filipino’
Tim Cone-led Gilas Pilipinas seems to be to the gang after beating world No. 6 and residential workforce Latvia in a Fiba OQT recreation in Riga. –FIBA PHOTO
“What number of occasions you may get to the worldwide area and have success? That’s an enormous feather in your cap, not only for me however for all of the gamers and all of the folks again dwelling,” stated the Barangay Ginebra coach.
“I grew up within the Philippines. I’ve been there my entire life. I went there after I was 9 years outdated. And folks know that about me they usually know that I’m mainly a Filipino though I’ve blonde hair and inexperienced eyes. It’s a feather within the cap for everybody.”
READ: Tim Cone dismisses notion that Gilas not massive, quick, sturdy sufficient
“For us to have success on the world stage actually means quite a bit to what’s happening again dwelling. That is what we at all times wished so it is a massive large step for us to have the ability to play Latvia at dwelling and go at them face-to-face and are available out with a win. It’s superb for us.”
Regardless of their spectacular begin within the OQT, Cone confused that the Filipinos didn’t come to win only one recreation however to “transfer on and get to the subsequent spherical and have an opportunity to play within the last” as they battle World No. 23 Georgia on Thursday at 8:30 p.m. (Manila time).
“We actually wanna try to get to the ultimate and see what is going to occur if we get to the finals. That’s actually the purpose,” he stated. “ Everytime you win a recreation the expectations go up so then it’s important to hold chasing the expectations and hopefully we gained’t really feel that and hopefully we will get that communicated to our workforce that we will’t play the expectations, we simply play the way in which that we will play.”
“We have now to show round and play Georgia and our gonna nation is gonna count on us, particularly after this win tonight, to win tomorrow and it’s actually gonna be a tricky job for us to beat Georgia.”
