GILAS Pilipinas cruised to a 90-61 win over Property Brokers Manawatu Jets in a tune-up game held in Manawatu, New Zealand on Sunday.
Justin Brownlee was rested for Sunday’s tune-up game but the Nationals, gearing up for Window 3 of the FIBA Basketball World Cup Asian Qualifiers, were still too good for the New Zealand club team.
READ: Travel woes plague Gilas Pilipinas en route to New Zealand
Gilas Pilipinas won the tune-up game before a good-sized Filipino crowd even after experiencing travel woes on Saturday when their flight to Wellington was redirected to Auckland due to weather.
With Gilas’ late arrival to Wellington, the tip-off of the tune-up game was pushed back at a later time as Manawatu is three hours away from the New Zealand capital.
Gilas Pilipinas is scheduled to play another local ballclub in the Franklin Bulls on Tuesday, before facing New Zealand on July 3 in Auckland.
Mike Phillips, called up to Gilas for the first time since being classified as a local, gave a good impression by showing his usual aggressiveness on both ends of the court during the tune-up game.
Gilas Pilipinas increased its lead even further when it scored 15 unanswered points to start the third quarter after taking a 45-33 halftime lead over the Jets.
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