NEW Zealand dimmed Gilas Pilipinas’ already-fading chances of making the Olympic Qualifying Tournament after outlasting Egypt, 88-86, in their final game in 2023 Fiba Word Cup on Saturday night at the Mall of Asia Arena.
New Zealand vs Egypt recap Fiba Basketball World Cup 2023
Reuben Te Rangi hit two free throws with 17 seconds left that gave the Tall Blacks the lead for good and spared them the blushes after they gave up a 14-point lead in their last classification match.
As a result, the Kiwis finished this World Cup with a 2-3 win-loss record and a -34 point difference to virtually gain an OQT invite for being the “Best next team from Asia/Oceania” after Japan.
READ: SCENARIOS: New Zealand, Lebanon stand in way of Gilas' OQT bid
Gilas can still qualify for an OQT spot if it wins against China tonight (Saturday) and hope to become one of the 16 “Following best next ranked teams" regardless of region.
Egypt wound up with a 2-3 slate and a +1 PD, still good enough to book an OQT ticket, but behind South Sudan (3-2, +25 PD), which clinched an automatic slot in the Paris Olympics as the best team from Africa following its 101-78 victory over Angola at the Big Dome also on Saturday.
For a while, though, Egypt had a shot to threaten South Sudan for the spot, as it came back from a 51-37 early in the third quarter to taking an 83-82 lead off an Ehab Amin triple with two minutes and 31 seconds left.
But after Finn Delany hit a technical free throw for New Zealand, then teammate Jordan Ngatai and Egypt’s Amr El Gendy traded three-pointers, Te Rangi sealed the deal from the foul line after drawing a foul on Amin.
“A great finish, positive for us. The slogan for us coming into the tournament was: No easy games,” Kiwis coach Pero Cameron said.
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