A win slipped away in double overtime against the New Zealand Tall Blacks in the FIBA World Cup 2027 Asian Qualifiers at the Spark Arena in Auckland on Friday, July 3, but Gilas Pilipinas may have found something far more enduring.
When the veterans struggled to find their rhythm, it was the next generation that answered the call.
Juan Gomez-De Liano, Kevin Quiambao, and Carl Tamayo carried the offensive load for Gilas in its heartbreaking 106-102 double-overtime loss to the Tall Blacks, offering the clearest glimpse yet of the future head coach Tim Cone has patiently built over the past two years.
Gomez-De Liano poured in 23 points, knocking down clutch three-pointers in both regulation and the first overtime to keep the Philippines alive.
On the other hand, Quiambao matched that output with 23 points of his own, serving as Gilas' offensive stabilizer throughout the contest.
Tamayo added an efficient 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting, including 3-of-4 from beyond the arc.
Their breakout performances ultimately were not enough. Gilas ran out of answers late in the second overtime as New Zealand tightened its grip on the contest, with its defense keying on naturalized star Justin Brownlee.
Held scoreless through regulation, Brownlee finished with just five points across the two extra periods.
Even in defeat, however, the bigger picture was difficult to ignore.
The young trio embodied exactly the kind of growth Cone envisioned when he assembled the current Gilas core.
"That's how you evolve a team, right?" Cone said during the postgame press conference. "You try to win with your veterans, and you develop your young guys. And our young guys have been developing over the last year and a half, two years. Every time they've come into a window, they've gotten better."
While the familiar faces struggled to make their usual impact, the spotlight naturally shifted to those waiting for their turn.
June Mar Fajardo started the contest but did not see action in the second half or either overtime period, finishing scoreless in just eight minutes. Meanwhile, Troy Rosario also started for Gilas but managed only two points in six minutes.
Brownlee sacrificed his usual offensive role, serving primarily as a screener while drawing defenders and creating space for Gomez-De Liano, Dwight Ramos, Quiambao, and Tamayo to attack.
Even without his trademark scoring bursts, the 38-year-old still contributed eight rebounds and four assists, though he also committed three turnovers.
Ramos chipped in 18 points on 6-of-17 shooting, while RJ Abarrientos struggled offensively with six points but orchestrated the attack with 10 assists.
"When we first got [Gomez-De Liano, Quiambao, and Tamayo] on the team, they were like 21 years old. Now they're 24, 25. So they have evolved along with the team," Cone shared.
"That was the vision from the very beginning, when we put this team together, that they at one point would be the main guys, and it may be coming a little more quickly than we thought."
None of the trio's performances came out of nowhere.
Each has steadily climbed the ladder within the national team, earning a larger role with every international window.
Gomez-De Liano, now 26, made his Gilas debut under Cone during the second qualifying window in February in a narrow 69-66 loss to New Zealand.
Quiambao has been part of the national team setup since the 2022 FIBA Asia Cup, while Tamayo's Gilas journey dates back even further to the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers. Both first represented the senior national team before completing their collegiate careers.
The youth movement extended beyond the trio in this window.
Mike Phillips also made an encouraging first impression, tallying two points and three rebounds in just 10 minutes while injecting energy into the Philippines' third-quarter surge.
"We're really proud of those young guys for continuing to improve. [KQ and Carl] both play in Korea," Cone stated. "They get a lot of improvement there. Juan is becoming one of the premier point guards in our league back in Manila. They have great, great futures ahead of them."
The defeat dropped Gilas to 2-3 in Group A of the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers, while New Zealand improved to 3-2.
The Philippines remains in search of its second victory over the Tall Blacks after earning its historic first FIBA win against them at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City in November 2024.
The loss will sting, especially after Gilas came within a few possessions of pulling off another statement victory over New Zealand.
Yet if there was one takeaway Cone could take from Auckland, it was that the program's future appears to be arriving sooner than expected.
That future also includes 26-year-olds RJ Abarrientos and AJ Edu, who continue to grow alongside Gomez-De Liano, Quiambao, and Tamayo as Gilas prepares for tougher tests ahead.
"They're evolving as players, and we're evolving as a team. And that's what you want in a basketball team. You don't want to stand still, and you want to keep moving forward. These young guys are developing and helping us move forward," Cone pointed out.
The challenge only gets steeper from here.
Gilas wraps up the first round of the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers against powerhouse Australia on Monday, July 6, in Perth, carrying with it the belief that its next generation is no longer simply waiting for its moment. It has already begun to seize it.
