Gilas ends New Zealand mastery with gutsy win in FIBA Asia Qualifiers

MANILA, Philippines — Still unscathed.

Gilas Pilipinas successfully defended its home court and finally thwarted fancied New Zealand, 93-89, in the Group B play of the FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers Thursday evening at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay. 

Gilas is now a step closer to securing an outright berth into next year’s FIBA Asia Cup in Saudi Arabia. 

After trailing by as much as 12 points, 60-72, late in the third quarter after a layup by Carl Tamayo, New Zealand slowly crept back. 

The lead was cut to just two, 82-84, after a 3-pointer by former Converge FiberXers import Tom Vodanovich with 2:39 remaining. 

A jumper by Sam Waardenburg was sandwiched by free throw makes from Dwight Ramos and Justin Brownlee, which gave Gilas an 88-84 lead with 1:45 left. 

A 3-pointer by Chris Newsome plunged the dagger into the Tall Blacks’ hearts, 91-84. 

Gilas had a sluggish start, going down 0-8 in the opening minutes. 

However, they slowly climbed out of the hole and took the lead, 20-18, following a Calvin Oftana trey. 

The two squads were kept in a close game in the next frames. A trey by Waardenburg gave New Zealand a 60-56 lead with 4:33 left in the third.

The Nationals then heated up, unleashing a 16-0 blitz capped by a Carl Tamayo layup to push the lead to 12, 72-70. 

However, a late trey by Corey Webster halted the run and made it 63-72 heading into the final canto. 

Gilas maintained a double-digit lead early on, before the Tall Blacks rallied back. 

Brownlee top-scored for the Nationals with 26 points to go with 19 rebounds and four assists. Kai Sotto had his best game in a Gilas jersey with 19 points, 10 boards and seven assists. 

Scottie Thompson (12 points), Ramos and Newsome (11 points each) completed the double-digit scorers for the Philippines.

"It was a tough one. They are good. They are really good. They are incredibly physical. I think that was the number one thing we had to battle through. Credit to Kai and June Mar battling through their bigs, who were really physical with us. Of course, Justin, they were physical with Justin," Gilas head coach Tim Cone said. 

"They rotated two, almost three guys on him and just banged him all game long. And to overcome that and find a way to win was really special. Especially because of our home court,  our home crowd and the people watching," he added. 

"It was a lot of attention on the game and our guys were pressured to win and they found a way. I’m proud of them." 

With the victory, Gilas has finally broken a four-game losing streak in its head-to-head against the World No. 22 squad. 

The 3-0 Philippines will face Hong Kong next at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, November 24 , at the same venue.