Cone, Brownlee impressed by Taiwan's solid play

TAIWAN's gritty home win against the Philippines on Thursday night impressed Gilas Pilipinas coach Tim Cone, considering how the Philippines humiliated Taiwan by 53 points a year ago when they clashed in the first window of the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers.

"I thought the Chinese Taipei team was very impressive. We made a couple of runs at them hoping that they would crack, but they never did," said Cone during the brief post-game press conference on Thursday.

Down by as many as 12 points in the last period, the Filipinos rode on the hot shooting hands of Justin Brownlee in a blazing rally to reverse the outcome.

But the Taiwanese made a collective effort in overcoming the Filipinos' searing rally, with Ting-Chien Lin, Chun Hsiang Lu, and Mohammad Al Bachir Gadiaga combining for 11 of the host squad's 15 three-pointers to hold off the Filipinos.

"They hit some big shots every time we tried to get a rhythm or make a run," added Brownlee, who shot 8-of-11 from three-point range and finished with 39 points in the game.

"They just responded very well. It was a hard-fought game."

Cone echoed Brownlee's post-game comments.

"They kept their composure and they kept on making big shots. Very impressive win by them, well deserved," said Cone.

The win was, indeed, impressive for Taiwan, which just a year ago, got badly beaten, by Gilas Pilipinas, 106-53, at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Taiwan also defeated the Philippines for the first time since the 2016 FIBA Asia Challenge in Tehran, Iran.

Previous to that, Taiwan's victory against Gilas Pilipinas came during the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship in Manila.

On Thursday, Taiwan scored 12 points from the 17 turnovers by the Philippines.

The host squad pounded it inside as evidenced by its 28-16 advantage in points in the paint. It also held a massive 42-17 advantage in bench points.

The Philippines, which already secured a spot for the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, absorbed just its first loss after zooming to a 4-0 start in the first two windows.

The Philippines will try to bounce back on Sunday when it faces New Zealand in Auckland.

The Tall Blacks will enter Sunday's rematch tied for first place at Group B with the Filipinos following New Zealand's 92-51 rout of winless Hong Kong.

New Zealand will be looking for a payback win after its 93-89 loss to the Philippines in the second window last November.