Gilas ends NZ trip strong with one-point loss to Tall Blacks

MANILA, Philippines – Gilas Pilipinas stood its ground against the 18th-ranked Tall Blacks before yielding a 76-77 heartbreaking loss Thursday in a strong finish to its 10-day training camp in New Zealand.

After sitting out the last two games to rest his bad back, Marcus Douthit played true to form in almost leading the Filipinos to a victory against the New Zealand men’s national team.

“We lost to New Zealand national team, 76-77. The Tall Blacks have only been practicing for three days and missing a couple of guys. But we played well especially Marcus Douthit,” Gilas head coach Chot Reyes said on his Twitter account (@coachot).

Gilas showed toughness against the supposedly stronger Tall Blacks, who finished 12^th in the FIBA World’s Championship in 2010.

“More importantly, we played physical – two of their guys got bloodied, one limped off, all accidental of course,” Reyes added.

Corey Webster alongside NBL’s leading scorer BJ Anthony with Casey Frank and New Zealand’s cadet team captain Reuben Te Rangi bannered the Tall Blacks, who have just concluded their try-outs.

The Nationals accomplished their goal of getting good, tougher games in lieu of the Jones Cup which Iran won over the weekend.

Overall, Gilas finished its six-game road trip in New Zealand with an even 3-3 card.  They won twice over Hawkes Bay Hawks (82-78 and 73-70) then lost two straight to NBL All Stars (85-86) and Wellington Saints (96-100) before routing Supercity Rangers (95-77).

The Nationals are expected to be back home this weekend and will wrap up its preparation with tune-up games against a PBA selection and the Kazakhstan national team before the FIBA Asia tournament tips off on August 1.