NEW Zealand Tall Blacks head coach Judd Flavel lamented letting the game slip away in their match against Gilas Pilipinas that led to their first loss in the FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers.
The Tall Blacks controlled the tempo of the game until the third quarter when the Filipinos dropped a telling 16-0 run that turned the tide around and roused a capacity crowd inside the Mall of Asia Arena.
“We were there for the majority of the game. You know, we had a patch in the third quarter where we sort of let it slip away and they (Gilas) were able to capitalize on offensive rebounds and points in the paint,” Flavel said after the game.
New Zealand jumped the gun on Gilas after racing to an 8-0 run and had its biggest lead at 13-4.
They still led 60-56 before Gilas dropped 16 unanswered points.
READ: Gilas ends long drought vs New Zealand with gutsy home win
“There were patches there where, you know offensively, we kind of lost our way a little bit,” admitted Flavel, who once played for former Gilas coach Tab Baldwin with the Tall Blacks.
“But we just haven’t had enough probably, reps under our belt.”
The loss left New Zealand yielding the top spot to the Philippines in Group B as it fell to a 2-1 record, while Gilas improved to 3-0.
Still, Flavel was proud of the way the Tall Blacks played against the home team and the thousands in attendance at MoA.
“I’m just very proud of our team in this battle. We knew it was going to be a tough contest,” said the New Zealand coach.
“The Philippines is a very polished outfit and they play structured offense and very big, very physical. And we knew this coming into the game, and that was going to be some of the keys that we had to do on the defensive end.”
The Tall Blacks will be coming back home Friday as they’re set to host Chinese Taipei in Christchurch on Sunday.
The Taiwanese won over Hong Kong earlier, 85-55, for a 1-2 slate.
“We get a chance to go back home and play another opponent in a couple of days’ time,” said Flavel.
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