For the first time in the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup, Gilas Pilipinas finally turned a furious comeback into a victory — and for Tim Cone, it was proof that the Philippines shares the same “Never Say Die” heart that has defined his decade-long run with Barangay Ginebra in the PBA.
After falling behind in all three of their Group D games, the Nationals completed their turnaround on Saturday, outlasting Iraq, 66-57, to keep their quarterfinal hopes alive.
It was the same story early on: a slow start, then a fightback.
Against Chinese Taipei in their opener, Gilas trailed 27-16 in the first quarter and by as many as 17 points before Kevin Quiambao led a spirited rally in an 87-95 loss.
Facing New Zealand next, they fell behind 55-41 at halftime before Justin Brownlee willed them close, only to bow again, 86-94.
The must-win clash with Iraq started no differently.
The Iraqis led 18-12 after the first quarter and kept the score tied at 33 by halftime.
Then came the third-quarter storm — Dwight Ramos, Brownlee, AJ Edu, and Chris Newsome powered a 22-7 blitz that flipped the game and gave Gilas control, 55-40, entering the final frame.
“You always wanna get off to a good start, and we just gonna have to bring more defense to the test in the beginning of the game,” Cone said. “It’s tough when you’re playing on your heels, you’re playing from behind all the time, which we did against Chinese Taipei and we did it again against New Zealand.
“What I like about our team is that we just don’t quit. We keep coming and back home we call it the Never Say Die attitude… I guess that’s very evident on this team.”
(C) FIBA
Still, Cone would prefer his squad to dictate from the opening tip rather than chase. He admitted the pressure of the win-or-go-home scenario might have contributed to their sluggish start.
“Obviously we don’t wanna rely on that (Never Say Die attitude) all the time… We didn’t really get to better starts,” he said. “Like Dwight said, they hit shots early, but we tightened our defense and were able to get ahead. I think that was the key.
“I also think we want it so bad to start well that we’re starting a little out of control… Seemed like the second half we were able to do that.”
Now, with a win finally under their belt, Cone hopes the momentum carries over to the qualification to the quarterfinals stage on Monday, where Gilas will face either Jordan or Saudi Arabia.
“It was a big win for us, just to get any win at this point is gonna be a big win for us because we need one to get under our belt… We needed to have a win to rekindle our confidence,” Cone said.
“We know the road is gonna be tough, we know we picked a tougher road to go but we’re ready to accept that challenge.”
