MANILA, Philippines — On home ground, in front of a sea of blue-clad countrymen, it was the perfect setting for Gilas Pilipinas to produce another hardcourt breakthrough.
Pitted against an opponent that had manhandled previous batches since 2016, the Nationals spared no effort in taking down New Zealand this time, 93-89, in the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers last night at a packed MOA Arena.
From Justin Brownlee to Kai Sotto, Scottie Thompson, Chris Newsome and Dwight Ramos and the bench players, every one deployed by coach Tim Cone did his role to accomplish this mission against the world No. 22 Tall Blacks.
Brownlee posted a par-for-the-course 26 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, two blocks and two steals in leading the 34th-ranked Filipinos to their first ever victory in FIBA play against the Kiwis to the delight of over 16,000 fans.
Prior to this reversal, the powerhouse from Oceania got the Filipinos in a stranglehold after claiming an 89-80 verdict in the 2016 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament, an 88-63 and 106-60 crushing in the FIBA World Cup Qualifiers in 2022 and a 92-75 demolition in the 2022 Asia Cup proper.
Kai Sotto, in his strongest Gilas outing so far, churned in a comprehensive 19-10-7 plus two blocks statline as he played a key role in helping the team to a 72-60 cushion late in the third.
Thompson shot 12 and dished out six assists as he provided energy and hustle as Ramos and Newsome shot 11 apiece, on top of taking defensive duties against NZ sniper Corey Webster.
The victory put the unbeaten Filipinos (3-0) a win away from an outright ticket to the 2025 Continental meet in Jeddah. They seek the clincher in another home game on Sunday against Hong Kong.
Though stalled, the Tall Blacks (2-1) can also advance if they beat Chinese Taipei in Christchurch on Monday and Gilas will take care of business against HK.