Cone stresses need for Gilas to defend opposing teams' 3-pointers

MANILA, Philippines -- Stopping opponents’ 3-point shooting will be the primary concern for Gilas Pilipinas moving forward, head coach Tim Cone said, as they lost two straight games in the FIBA Asia Cup.

The Philippines is now 0-2 in the tournament, surrendering losses against Chinese Taipei and New Zealand.

Against Chinese Taipei, Gilas gave up 12 3-pointers. On late Thursday evening, the Tall Blacks connected on 13 triples.

After the Nationals’ 94-86 loss Thursday, Cone underscored that they have to work on stopping the 3-point shooting of their opponents for the rest of the tournament.

“Well, we just have to identify shooters a little better. We didn't do that very well in the first half. I thought we did a much better job in the second half. [Jordan] Ngatai really, you know, had some open looks early in the first half and we knew coming out he was going to be a shooter and we had to cover him and we still didn't cover him,” Cone said.

Ngatai had a perfect 5-of-5 clip from beyond the arc in their game. The lefty had 19 points in the first half alone and anchored the Tall Blacks’ huge first half, which saw them take a lead as high as 18 points.

“To me, it's just more mental adjustments than anything else and just something we've got to continue to talk about and work on and try to figure out why teams are shooting so well,” the coach added.

Cone also cited the instance where forward Jack Andrew hoisted up a shot from beyond the arc, which connected and gave New Zealand the 55-37 lead.

“So, Andrew, you know, from the corner on a loose ball, he picked it up, threw it out and made the three. I mean, it just seems to be that that's the way the game has been going for us lately,” he said.

“But hopefully, we can turn that around. We have to and again, it's all going to be about mental, getting loose balls, getting loose rebounds and not allowing the extra possessions to get three-point shots up.”

After the sluggish start in the first half, Gilas came alive in the final two quarters, slicing the deficit to as near as three, 82-85, with 3:52 remaining.

Cone said they played the zone in the second half, but while they chipped the lead away, New Zealand was still able to get “too many layups throughout the game.”

“Chinese Taipei shot very well from the three and tonight [New Zealand] shot very well from the three so that's something we've got to try to solve and get better at going into our next game and through the tournament.”

In comparison, Gilas’ 3-point shooting is not as high as they wanted it to be. They made just nine of their 28 attempts from deep against the Tall Blacks, and sank 8-of-28 from deep against Chinese Taipei.

Still, the Philippines has a chance to make it to the qualifying round to the quarterfinals as it takes on fellow winless Iraq on Saturday, 4 p.m.

A win would fling either the Philippines or Iraq to the next round, where they will play either the second or third team of Group C.

Group C is composed of China, Jordan, Indonesia and home team Saudi Arabia.