“They are the top ranked team in the world. They beat (Croatia) but New Zealand is gonna be a tough team for us in the FIBA Asia and we are looking forward to measuring up with them,” said Cone in a post-OQT presser. The second window of the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers is still three and half months away but Gilas Pilipinas head coach Tim Cone is already excited to see how his wards would fare against New Zealand in their two-game home stand in November.
Like Gilas, the Tall Blacks made a good account of themselves in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament, pulling off a surprising 90-86 victory over Croatia that was bannered by NBA players Dario Saric and Ivica Zubac. Croatia was even fresh off a morale-boosting victory over Luka Doncic and Slovenia when it lost to the Tall Blacks. “They are the top ranked team in the world.
They beat (Croatia) but New Zealand is gonna be a tough team for us in the FIBA Asia and we are looking forward to measuring up with them,” said Cone in a post-OQT presser. Unlike Gilas which advanced to the semifinals, however, New Zealand fell short of reaching the next round in OQT. But that doesn’t mean that the Nationals are entirely better than the world No.
21 Tall Blacks especially with how they manhandled the Filipinos during their past meetings. New Zealand has come out victorious over Gilas through the four meetings they had in the past – in all of those the Tall Blacks won in a dominant fashion. “They have handled us easily in.
