GILAS Pilipinas succumbed to its second straight loss to close the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 qualifiers, bowing to New Zealand, 87-70, on Sunday at the Spark Arena in Auckland.
The Nationals trailed big after a fiery start from the outside by world No. 22 Tall Blacks in the first half, and their fourth quarter rally was not enough to erase the lead that reached as high as 28.
New Zealand avenged its November loss to the Philippines with a blowout victory at home to take first place in Group A with a 5-1 record.
Back-to-back losses for Gilas
After their away defeat against Chinese Taipei last Thursday, Gilas dropped all of its games in Window 3 of the qualifiers to fall to 4-2 heading into the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 competition to be played in August in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Chris Newsome led the Filipino uprising that got quelled, top-scoring with 13 points. Justin Brownlee had a quiet night, contributing 10 points on 5-of-8 from the field, as the Kiwis made it hard for the naturalized player to find opportunities to score.
The Tall Blacks shot an impeccable 6 of 9 from threes in the first quarter to secure a 30-15 advantage over Gilas Pilipinas, and never looked back.
Tohi Smith-Milner had 25 points and shot 5 of 10 from rainbow country, including three in the first quarter. New Zealand eventually hit 13 of 33 attempts from threes.
Corey Webster, who saw action in New Zealand’s loss to the Philippines last November, also made a huge impact in weathering Gilas’ comeback bid, scoring 14 points, some of which coming in the final period. Reuben Te Rangi added 12 points and nine rebounds, while Jordan Ngatai added 11 points for the Tall Blacks.
June Mar Fajardo had 11 points and five assists, while AJ Edu grabbed 15 rebounds as Gilas Pilipinas lost again with Kai Sotto out due to an ACL injury.
The scores:
New Zealand 87 – Smith-Milner 25, Webster 14, Te Rangi 12, Ngatai 11, Britt 8, Wynyard 7, Le’afa 5, Darling 3, K. Isaac 2, Brown 0, T. Isaac 0, Ball 0.
Philippines 70 – Newsome 13, Fajardo 11, Brownlee 10, Oftana 8, Ramos 8, Edu 7, Aguilar 6, Tamayo 4, Perez 3, Quiambao 0, Thompson 0, Malonzo 0.
Quarters: 30-15; 53-33; 74-55; 87-70.
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