MANILA, Philippines—As expected, people had plenty to say after the Gilas Pilipinas’ exit in the 2025 Fiba Asia Cup–particularly about coach Tim Cone.

Notably, the brunt of social media criticism was directed at Cone’s patented triangle system he has relied on since his early days in the PBA.

READ: Tim Cone’s hands tied with PBA and Gilas calendar conflict

Some called it outdated, while some called it ineffective in international competition, but Cone is big on defending what he believes brought him success over the years.

“I know people are complaining and upset about our triangle system. I read social media, and I do that on purpose. I don’t like to do it, but I do it because I want to hear what the people are saying,” said Cone with Power and Play.

“This [triangle offense] is what I do best, what I’ve done throughout my career, so teaching something that I don’t know doesn’t really make a lot of sense to me.”

Gilas Pilipinas against Australia during the 2025 Fiba Asia Cup quarterfinals. –FIBA PHOTO

For the veteran tactician, it’s normal for his system to see both gloomy and brighter days.

The longtime Ginebra mentor also pointed that there wasn’t any clamor against the triangle when Gilas defeated powerhouses like Latvia and New Zealand using his famed offensive system.

READ: Tim Cone will take deliberate approach to Gilas autopsy after exit

“When we were beating Latvia and New Zealand and when we won the Asian Games, nobody was saying anything about the triangle. Now, people are beating up the triangle again,” Cone pondered.

“Give the guys some credit. They beat Latvia in Riga, they beat China in China, and they beat Saudi Arabia in Saudi Arabia. That’s not easy to do. Even New Zealand tried to beat us, but they couldn’t beat us at home,” he added.

Cone also pointed out that Gilas drew a tougher path in Jeddah, facing both Oceania squads–New Zealand and Australia–who are well-versed in different basketball systems.

“I think we’re the only team to play the two Oceania teams. Maybe other teams had a chance to play them once but we had to play both of them. It’s tough to get past those two, but we knew this heading into the tournament. We talked about it from the first moment we met.”

With Cone’s triangle at the helm, Gilas averaged 78.8 points per game but gave up 83.6 per outing.