TIM Cone expects an all-out war from a must-win Chinese Taipei side when it battles Gilas Pilipinas in the FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers on Thursday night at the Taipei Heping basketball gymnasium.

Not lost on the veteran national mentor is the home team parading an entirely different roster from the one the Filipinos routed a year ago, 106-53, during the first window of the qualifiers held at the Philsports Arena.

Not to mention too, the home team’s bid to make the final qualifying tournament as the third-placer in Group B.

“We expect to come out and battle against Taiwan. We know they’re going to be a lot, lot better than we played them the last time,” said Cone in a video interview from Chinese Taipei posted on the official Facebook page of the Samahang Basketball ng Pilipinas (SBP).

“They got a new import, they got a new coach, they got a couple of new players from the Japan league and one from the CBA (Chinese Basketball Association),” he added.

PHOTO: fiba.basketball

Taiwan did play without a naturalized player when it faced Gilas in February last year, but has since brought in Brandon Gilbeck and Mohammad Al Bachir Gadiaga to reinforce the team.

The 6-foot-2 Gadiaga, whose father is from Senegal and his mother an American, however, had been classified as a local player by FIBA since last year.

Gadiaga plays in the B.League for the Akita Northern Happinets along with Ai-Che Yu (Shiga Lakes), while Long-Mao Hu and Ying-Chun Chen are teammates with the Guangdong Dongguan Banks in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA).

Ai-Che though, previously played for Chinese Taipei when it first met Gilas in the qualifiers.

“We expect a much, much different fight this time around, but I think we’re ready for them,” said Cone of the Taiwanese.

The Filipinos have been in Taiwan since Tuesday after a grueling schedule that saw them spend five days in Doha, Qatar for a three-nation friendly, travelled back to Manila, and then departed for Chinese Taipei less than 24 hours later.

Gilas ended up with a 1-2 record in the Doha meet, winning over Qatar and losing to Lebanon and Egypt.

But Cone believes the experience toughened the national team, both physically and mentally.

“This is just not the time for us to rest. We can’t afford to rest. Right now, we just got to keep pushing and moving forward,” said the Gilas coach.

“So far this team has been really, really good about moving forward, putting the last things behind them and just keep on battling."

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