Gilas Pilipinas simply had no answers for Australia in their 2025 FIBA Asia Cup quarterfinals clash.
The Nationals fell behind early, absorbing seven first-quarter three-pointers from the Boomers, and the Philippines played catch-up from that point on.
“I didn’t like our performance tonight,” said head coach Tim Cone.
“I didn’t think we stepped up as much as we wanted to.”
To add to Gilas’ woes, after the Aussies sizzled from long range, they turned to dominating the paint in the second period by imposing their might over the Filipinos.
This eventually resulted in the Australians putting up a 38-20 advantage in paint points, and they also outrebounded the Philippines, 57-36 (19-10 off).
“We tried to do some things, but it didn’t work for us,” said Cone, on what their strategy was.
“We tried to keep the game under a certain type of tempo, but they just overwhelmed that idea.”
“We couldn’t do it. At some point, we just tried to match them pace for pace, but they just overwhelmed us,” he added.
Australia, according to FIBA, has five players who are listed as 6’7 or higher.
The 6-foot-9 Will Magnay and 7-foot Harry Wells stood tall against the Philippines, delivering 10 points, six rebounds, a block, six markers, and five boards, respectively, among other frontline standouts.
This left Cone admitting that the Boomers’ height and scoring were just too much to handle for his troops.
“The Australian athleticism and length, even though you see it on video, you realize that they are superior,” he said.
“We just had a hard time staying in front of them and challenging their threes, so they got up their shots quickly.”
“We were trying to keep it at a slower pace, but we didn’t have the discipline to do that,” he added.
However, the Barangay Ginebra mentor emphasized that these factors are not isolated to Gilas, especially in the Asia Cup setting wherein Australia is currently 16-0.
“They are very athletic and quick to the ball,” he said of the three-peat-seeking Boomers.
“I don’t want to make excuses, but we’re not the only team this happens to when you play Australia.” (ABS-CBN News)