Cone after Gilas loss to Chinese Taipei: 'I take full ownership of it'

Gilas Pilipinas head coach Tim Cone took full responsibility for the national team's loss against Chinese Taipei in the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers on Thursday.

The Philippines fell to Chinese Taipei, 91-84.

"No one feels worse about this devastating loss than I do, and I take full ownership of it," Cone said in his post on X (formerly Twitter).

"We knew they were going to be much improved from the last time we played them, but they were even better than we thought. That's on me. No doubt, I should have prepared us better."

No one feels worse about this devastating loss than I do, and I take full ownership of it. We knew they were going to be much improved from the last time we played them, but they were even better than we thought. That's on me. No doubt, I should have prepared us better. 1 of 2

— Tim Cone (@manilacone) February 21, 2025

While Cone said he could have done things differently, the national team head coach vows he and the team will be better moving forward.

"There is obviously a lot that I would have done differently in that game if given another chance, but that is not possible now. Only thing we can do at this point is move on. I will be better. We will be better," he said.

In the post-match conference on Thursday, Cone also had good words for their opponent.

"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.

Gilas will head to New Zealand next to face the Tall Blacks on Sunday morning.

—JKC, GMA Integrated News