Cone confident Gilas will fare better against familiar foes

National team head coach Tim Cone is optimistic Gilas Pilipinas will perform better against familiar foes Chinese Taipei and New Zealand in the upcoming FIBA Asia Cup preliminary round in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Gilas Pilipinas aims for redemption after suffering consecutive losses to Chinese Taipei and New Zealand during the third and final window of the tournament's qualifiers.

The team is grouped with Chinese Taipei, New Zealand, and Iraq in Group D for the tournament scheduled from August 5 to 17.

Cone acknowledged the need for improvement, especially after the blowout road losses Gilas suffered last February.

Gilas had previously secured victories against both Chinese Taipei and New Zealand in the earlier stages of the qualifiers, including a dominant win over the Taiwanese and an upset against the Tall Blacks on home soil.

He believes that having played against Taiwan and New Zealand multiple times, with the team now knowing them better, will allow Gilas to be better prepared for their next matchups.