Cone: Confidence For Gilas Starts With Preparation

FIBA tournaments come with their own challenges for Gilas Pilipinas. Sometimes, it is the limited time players have together. Other times, it is having to adjust to different opponents, different styles of play, different environments, and even different officiating.

Tim Cone knows those challenges will be waiting for the Philippine men’s national team in the upcoming FIBA Asian Qualifiers window as the national team prepares for two tough road matchups against powerhouse Oceanic opponents New Zealand and Australia.

Gilas enters the window with a 2-2 record in Group A of the 2027 FIBA Basketball World Cup Asian Qualifiers, already through to the next round but still looking to prove it can respond after back-to-back home losses to the same two teams earlier this year.

That is why, even with the difficult schedule ahead, Cone remains optimistic. Gilas has pulled off surprises before, and he believes the team can do it again.

“Well, we know it’s gonna be tough. We’re looking forward to it. You know, we’ve been a team that’s pulled surprises before, and I’m not gonna be surprised if we pull a surprise,” he said.

The trip begins in Brisbane, where Gilas will hold camp before the official window opens against New Zealand in Auckland on July 3 and continues against Australia in Perth on July 6.

Instead of flying in shortly before tip-off, the national team will have the opportunity to train overseas, adjust to the environment, and play tune-up games against professional teams from New Zealand.

“I like the way the SBP has set it up for us in terms of being able to go down to Brisbane and acclimatize ourselves to the weather a little bit, get a camp down there, and then play a couple of friendlies against pro New Zealand teams. I think that’s really good preparation for us.”

Preparation has always been one of Cone’s biggest priorities. Every Gilas game carries a different weight because the players are not just representing a team, they’re representing the entire country.

“You know, every game for Gilas is a championship game. It’s a Game 7, and we just gotta be prepared the best we can.”

That mentality is why Cone believes preparation and confidence go hand in hand. The more prepared the team feels, the more confident they become once they step on the floor. With the training camp, tune-up games, and additional time together, Cone feels this is one of the better opportunities Gilas has had to prepare for a major international window.

“I’ve always said a prepared team is a confident team. If we feel like we’re prepared and ready to go, then we’re gonna be confident, and that’ll show in our game,” he said. “And I think this is really one of our best chances to do that with the preparation we’ve had and the preparation behind us. So I’m excited. I’m really looking forward to it.”

Even after another long PBA season, and even after steering Barangay Ginebra to another championship run, Cone is eager to get back to work with the national team and believes the players feel the same way.

Of course, preparation can only take a team so far. Once the games begin, adjustments become part of the process. Every international tournament presents situations that are impossible to fully prepare for until the players actually experience them.

“I’m clear-eyed. I’m not tired from the finals. I’m ready to get going. So I think our guys are all ready to get going too,” Cone said, before later adding:

“We’ll have to take a look and see. I mean, it’s hard to say what the adjustments are gonna be until you get actually on the court and you get the feel for them.”

One of those adjustments comes from officiating. FIBA games are often called differently from what players are used to in local leagues, something Cone knows his players will have to deal with.

“The players are gonna have to start the conference with an open mind and learn to adjust. And that’s an uncontrollable for us. We can’t control the referee.”

Instead of focusing on calls or circumstances outside their control, Cone wants the team focused on moving forward.

“Our players just have to learn to adjust and not lock into that and just keep playing the next play. And I think that’s what’s really important.”

Rather than simply selecting the most talented players available, the coaching staff looks for players who fit what they are trying to build.

That becomes even more important in this window, with Gilas entering without key frontcourt pieces Kai Sotto and Quentin Millora-Brown. The absences change the team’s size, depth, and rotation options, forcing the coaching staff to search for players who can fill specific needs against two physical opponents.

“We really look at guys and bring them in for a purpose. We don’t just look at the talent and say, he’s the most talented player there, so therefore we’re gonna get him. We try to make him come in and fit the puzzle of the vision that we have for the team.”

One of those players is two-time UAAP champion Michael Phillips, whose energy has already caught the attention of the coaching staff.

“There’s a reason why he’s Motor Mike. It’s very apt, that nickname. He comes in and goes at it.”

Phillips enters the senior national team setup at a time when Gilas needs activity, rebounding, physicality, and fresh legs. Against New Zealand and Australia, where possessions often become tests of toughness and discipline, that kind of motor can matter.

Cone is particularly excited to see Phillips eventually share the floor with Troy Rosario, believing their energy could have a significant impact on the group.

“We haven’t had Troy and Mike together in practice yet. We’re looking forward to that. We might see some sparks fly and have fireworks going on between those two because both of them have tremendous motors. So that’ll really lift the energy of our team, I think.”

Still, energy alone will not determine playing time. Learning the system remains just as important.

“It’s just really a matter for Mike how much he can pick up in terms of the system, defensively especially, but even the offensive system. That’s gonna be crucial for Mike. That will dictate how much time he gets on the floor, is how much he’s learning in practice.”

Cone also discussed Justine Baltazar, who impressed the coaching staff during the previous window and now finds himself back in the Gilas setup. With Gilas losing key frontcourt players, Baltazar’s versatility became one of the reasons he was brought back into the pool.

“We know him from the last window. We had him through the whole camp and he impressed us then.”

The best part? Cone believes Baltazar still has plenty of room to grow.

“He’s a player with a high ceiling and we’re hoping that he can play at that high ceiling.”

For Gilas, the window is not only about trying to steal a result on the road. It is also about growth. It is about seeing how the team responds after the previous window, how quickly the new pieces can absorb Cone’s system, and how the group handles the pressure of facing two of the strongest teams in the region away from home.

Right now, all attention is on New Zealand and Australia. The opponents are tough, the challenges are real, and the adjustments will come once the games begin.

But if there is one thing Cone continues to come back to, it’s preparation. Because he believes confidence is built long before the game even begins.

And Gilas Pilipinas has already started working.