GILAS Pilipinas suffered its first defeat in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 Asian Qualifiers at the hands of a physical and disciplined New Zealand side, 69-66. on Thursday night at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Yanni Wetzell scored on a follow-up with 13.8 seconds left to help the Tall Blacks weather a late fightback by Gilas, 68-64, and post their first win after suffering a sweep in Window One at the hands of rival Australia in Group A.
READ Eight years on, one holdover in Australia lineup from Gilas brawl
The Nationals suffered their defeat after a 2-0 start to the qualifiers despite the offensive outburst of Cjay Perez early in the game, a late second-quarter run led by Dwight Ramos, and a last-gasp comeback that cut the deficit down to three late.
It was also the Tall Blacks' third straight win over Gilas, which saw naturalized player Justin Brownlee struggle with just four points on 2-of-10 shooting.
A chance to tie the game opened up for Gilas in the final moments when Reuben Te Rangi split his free throws, 63-66, but Ramos' three-point shot was a tad too strong to the disappointment of the capacity crowd at the MOA Arena.
Ramos had 16 points and eight rebounds to lead the host team while Perez played arguably his best game in this Gilas iteration with 15 points, 10 of which came in the first quarter.
Gilas debutant Juan Gomez de Liano added 10 points in 14 minutes, AJ Edu was solid all game with five points, 11 rebounds, and four assists while Quentin Millora Brown had seven points, six boards, and two assists.
However, Gilas was weighed down by poor shooting, making just 7 of 37 shots from beyond the three-point arc (18.92 percent) and 26 of 80 overall.
One of the thorns on the side of Gilas was Max Darling, who had 11 points on 2-of-4 shooting from three-point range, and Alex McNaught finishing with 10 points on 3-of-4 from three-point range.
Sam Mennenga lorded it over the paint against a Gilas squad without Kai Sotto as he finished with 10 points and 14 rebounds for the Tall Blacks.
New Zealand ended the third quarter with a 57-46 lead after a three and split free throws by McNaught, the momentum of which it carried in the final period.
Gilas went off to a sizzling start led by Perez. Ramos later led a 10-0 blast to tie the game at the half at 37-all.
The scores:
New Zealand 69 – Darling 11, Mennenga 10, McNaught 10, Harrison 9, Te Rangi 7, Davison 5, Britt 5, Wetzell 4, Ngatai 3, Murray 3, Smith-Milner 2, Rasmussen 0.
Philippines 66 – Ramos 16, Perez 15, Gomez de Liano 10, Millora-Brown 7, Edu 5, Brownlee 4, Tamayo 3, Oftana 3, Quiambao 2, Thompson 1, Newsome 0, Fajardo 0.
Quarters: 25-21; 37-37; 57-46; 69-66.
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