Gilas Pilipinas may have fallen short of its goal of winning gold at the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup, but the team earned praise from opposing coaches who also showcased their countries’ talents on the international stage.

The Philippines ended in the top eight of the tournament as it fell against Australia, 84-60, in the quarterfinals.

Before that, however, Gilas won back-to-back against Iraq and Saudi Arabia.

Here are some of the thoughts from different FIBA Asia Cup coaches on the Philippine team:

Experienced

“Philippine guys have more experience. They play the World Cup qualifiers, they play the Asian Games with so many players. They’ve played together for two, three years. So, if you consider the two teams, there is a huge difference in experience. But experience is only one part of the game.”

— Gianluca Tucci (Chinese Taipei)

‘Superstars’

“I’ve known for a long time, this team of the Philippines… all these players, they are superstars over there. And that is when the championship [experience is] coming, they are coming with a superstar. I’m sure that the Philippines is improving [by] playing hard games. That will help them in the future… For me, the Philippines is [a] top four or top six team here.”

— Veselin Matic (Iraq)

“It’s top-level in the FIBA rankings. They have excellent players.“

— Ricard Casas Gurt (Saudi Arabia)

Gilas Pilipinas, however, hopes that the praise they received, and the lessons they learned from the tournament, will carry over when they return to action in the FIBA World Cup Qualifiers this November.

READ MORE | What’s Next for Gilas Pilipinas in the FIBA Asia Cup?

Gilas Pilipinas tournament recap:

Group stage Qualification to quarterfinals Quarterfinals

—JKC, GMA Integrated News