Cone says Chinese Taipei win vs Gilas Pilipinas an 'impressive' one

Head coach Tim Cone only had good words for the Chinese Taipei squad which defeated Gilas Pilipinas, 91-84, in the third window of the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers on Thursday.

Chinese Taipei led 71-61 by the end of the third period before the Philippines crawled its way back and took an 82-81 lead with around three minutes left. However, crucial baskets from Brandon Gilbeck, Ting-Chien Lin, and Chun Hsiang Lu handed Chinese Taipei the win in front of their home crowd.

"The Chinese Taipei team was very impressive, we made a couple of runs at them, we were hoping they would crack, but they never did. They kept their composure. They kept making big shots and very impressive win by them and well-deserving," Cone said in a press conference.

Justin Brownlee also gave credit and congratulated Chinese Taipei on the win. 

Chinese Taipei head coach Gianluca Tucci, meanwhile, described their win as a "masterpiece."

"I think we've done kind of a masterpiece on the court because we executed everything we prepared," Tucci said after facing what he described as a stronger team.

Back in the first window in February last year, Gilas won over Chinese Taipei, 106-53.

Gilas absorbed its first defeat in the qualifiers as it slipped to 4-1, while Chinese Taipei improved to 2-3 as it hopes to be among the six best third-ranked teams which will battle for the remaining slots to the FIBA Asia Cup.

—JKC, GMA Integrated News