GILAS Pilipinas squandered a four-point lead late in double overtime and lost to New Zealand on the road, 106-102, on Friday in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 Asian Qualifiers at the Spark Arena in Auckland.
Sam Mennenga made back-to-back baskets in the final minute of the second overtime to erase a 100-96 deficit and the home side held on to clinch a spot in the second round of the World Cup qualifiers with their third win in five outings in Group A.
READ Gilas trails New Zealand by 5 at half as Brownlee held scoreless
The Tall Blacks continued their mastery of Gilas, extending their winning streak to five as the Philippine side fell to 2-3 in the group stage ahead of another away match against unbeaten Australia on Monday night.
It was a heartbreaking defeat for Gilas, which held leads late in the game including at 100-96 spread when a struggling Justin Brownlee - held to two points up until that point - made his first and only three of the match.
Juan Gomez de Liano also knocked down a three for a 93-91 lead at the final 8.3-second mark of the first overtime, but Gilas couldn't hold on.
But Shane Ili was fouled by Dwight Ramos while the latter was trying to intercept an inbounds pass with Gilas in penalty with 7.8 seconds left, sending the Tall Blacks guard to the line for two free throws that sent the game into a second extra time.
Gomez de Liano earlier brought the game to the first overtime with a three-point shot with 11.9 seconds left, 83-83.
In the end, errors and fouls by Gilas proved costly in the end game including fouls by Brownlee during the final stretch. The naturalized player committed an offensive foul on a moving screen that led to Mennenga scoring on a dunk for a 102-100 lead.
Brownlee was also assessed an unsportsmanlike foul off an inbounds pass with 10.6 seconds left and shortly after Mennenga scored on a follow-up after a missed jumper by Carlin Davison that made it a 104-102 lead for the Tall Blacks.
Gomez de Liano and Kevin Quiambao led Gilas in scoring with 23 points each. Gomez de Liano knocked down four of his nine three-point shots and chippied in six rebounds and four assists. Dwight Ramos had 18 points and Carl Tamayo had 17 points on 3-of-4 shooting from threes.
Brownlee, however, was limited to only five points. Although he grabbed eight rebounds and had four assists, Brownlee was ineffective offensively with the Tall Blacks double teaming the Gilas naturalized player at every opportunity.
Reuben Te Rangi led the Tall Blacks with 22 points, while Ili had 21 points.
New Zealand nearly won the game outright after Tohi Smith-Milner scored a tip-in at the end of the fourth quarter, but the shot was nullified as referees concluded it was converted after the buzzer after a video review.
The scores:
New Zealand 106 – Te Rangi 22, Ili 21, Waardenburg 16, Mennenga 13, Webster 12, Davison 7, Smith-Milner 6, Britt 4, Ngatai 3, Murray 2, Timmins 0.
Philippines 102 – Gomez de Liano 23, Quiambao 23, Ramos 18, Tamayo 17, Edu 6, Abarrientos 6, Brownlee 5, Rosario 2, Phillips 2, Fajardo 0, Newsome 0.
Quarters: 23-17; 44-39; 63-64; 83-83; 93-93; 106-102.
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