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FILE–Calvin Oftana was the lone bright spot for Gilas Pilipinas in its Asian Games 2026 men’s basketball opener vs Bahrain. -FIBA PHOTO
Gilas Pilipinas’ rough loss to Bahrain cast more doubt on its chances of retaining the gold medal in men’s basketball as the country’s campaign in the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games officially got going on Friday.
Coach Tim Cone refused to sugarcoat much of the 89-85 loss, a scoreline that wasn’t reflective of the difficulty Gilas endured for most of the contest.FEATURED STORIES SPORTS LIVE: Gilas Pilipinas vs Kazakhstan - Asian Games 2026 men's basketball SPORTS Gilas faces must-win games to make it out of group play at Asian Games SPORTS US Open: World's top 2 players Rybakina, Sabalenka meet in final
“We expected more from ourselves, [especially having a lot of] basketball-crazy fans,” Cone said. “So we’re disappointed.”
A decisive stretch during the waning moments of the second quarter all the way to the third spelled doom for Gilas, as it was left helpless with Bahrain’s combination of size advantage and outside conversions, all the while with the Filipinos struggling to make shots reminiscent of their two blowout defeats in an exhibition series with South Korea.
Calvin Oftana was one of the few, if not the lone bright spot, for Gilas, making good on Cone’s belief as a “plug-and-play guy” being a part of his system for the long term.
Oftana showed no signs of rust or injury concerns, having missed the last three months with hamstring and toe injuries, firing 31 points on 11-of-19 shooting in undoubtedly his best performance in a Gilas uniform.
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