Gilas Pilipinas head coach Tim Cone remains confident in the national team’s chances of defending its men’s basketball title at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, despite facing greater pressure compared with its unexpected gold-medal run in 2023.
Cone pointed out that the circumstances surrounding Gilas are significantly different this time. Three years ago, the team entered the Asian Games with limited expectations before producing a surprise championship performance.
“It’s a lot different coming in. Nobody had a lot of expectations for us in ‘23 but now that we won it, the expectations are gonna be stronger and bigger,” said Cone on Thursday, September 3.
Despite the increased pressure, Cone said the Philippines remains determined to contend for the top prize.
“We really want to make sure we get a medal and hopefully it’s going to be a gold medal, that’s what we are shooting for,” he added.
Gilas may also enter the tournament with an all-Filipino lineup if Justin Brownlee is unable to join the squad. The possible absence of the naturalized player, combined with the expectations attached to being the defending champion, adds another challenge for Cone’s team.
“This one we’ll be going all-filipino unless Justin makes a last-second appearance so I think the expectation for this one is gonna be a little bit different for us but we’re still gonna expect the gold but we’re still gonna work with what to do every day,” he added.
For now, the national team is prioritizing chemistry and coordination through two tune-up games against South Korea on September 4 and 6.
Gilas will then travel to Nagoya for the Asian Games, where it is scheduled to begin its Group B campaign against Bahrain on September 11. The Philippines will face Kazakhstan the following day before closing the group stage against China on September 14.
Cone emphasized that the team intends to focus on each task rather than get overwhelmed by the pressure surrounding its title defense.
“(We) just worry about what’s right in front of us and take care of that everyday and hope that in the end of time we look up and we have a gold medal again,” said Cone
He acknowledged that the experience will be considerably different from the team’s 2023 campaign.
“But it’s definitely a different experience this time around than it was in ‘23,” he added.