One win.
That is all Tim Cone is focused on when Gilas Pilipinas take on New Zealand and Australia on the road in the third window of the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers.
“If we can steal one game, that would be huge going into the next round. That’s really the plan,” Cone admitted.
Margin for Error Is Getting Smaller for Gilas
Cone’s honesty is understandable. New Zealand and Australia are world beaters. They are among the best in the world and certainly the measuring stick in the Asia-Oceania region. Both the Boomers and Tall Blacks also beat Gilas Pilipinas in the second window, with the former doing so handily and the latter surviving some rough patches before sealing the win.
Regardless of the result of the third window this July, Gilas Pilipinas are assured of playing in the second round of the qualifiers thanks to their two wins over Guam in the first window. But that is hardly a consolation for Cone, who knows that two more losses heading into the next round could very well doom the national team’s chances of making it to the World Cup next year.
“Right now, if we don’t win one of these next two games, we’re going to have a very small margin of error as we move forward into the next round. Almost like we’re going to have to sweep the next round,” Cone pointed out. “That’s really difficult with high-quality teams like Iran and Jordan. It would really help us out if we could win one of these two games. That would give us more margin of error as we move forward into the next round.”
Cone is right. Standing in the way of Gilas Pilipinas’ World Cup hopes are Middle Eastern powerhouses Iran and Jordan, along with emerging nation Syria. To qualify for the quadrennial hoops showcase, the Philippines will have to either finish in the top three among Australia, New Zealand, Jordan, Iran, and Syria or be the best fourth-place team after the second round.
Where Does Gilas Stand?
As of this writing, Australia at 4-0 have the inside track, followed by 3-0 Jordan. Iran (2-1) are third, with New Zealand and Gilas Pilipinas joint fourth with identical 2-2 records. Going 0-2 in the third window, therefore, could prove disastrous, as Cone and company could enter the second round either at fourth or, worse, fifth.
In that worst-case scenario, Gilas Pilipinas would need to essentially sweep their games against Jordan, Iran, and Syria. It is not impossible, but it could also be very difficult. Cone certainly knows this.
“Every game we play at Gilas is a Game 7 championship…,” Cone added. “That means we’ve got to prepare the best we can prepare.”
Gilas Pilipinas plunge back into action on 3 July against New Zealand and then on 6 July against Australia.
Cone is hoping for at least one win.
One win. That’s it.
