Photo credit: FIBA | fiba.basketball
World No. 34 and Asia's No. 7, Gilas Pilipinas Men finished their FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers Group B campaign with a 17-point loss against New Zealand on Sunday, February 23, 2025, at Spark Arena in Auckland.
New Zealand dominated early, opening the game with a commanding 30-15 first-quarter lead and extending it to 53-33 by halftime after outscoring Gilas Pilipinas 23-18 in the second period. The Tall Blacks' biggest lead ballooned to 28 points, but despite Gilas outscoring them in the second half, 37-34, they couldn't keep up with New Zealand's relentless attack.
The Tall Blacks shot 43.5%, including 13-of-33 from beyond the arc and 14-of-16 from the free-throw line, while Gilas struggled with 37.5% shooting (27-of-72), hitting just 6-of-29 from three and 10-of-16 from the stripe.
Head Coach Judd Flavell's Tall Blacks finished the qualifiers on top of Group B with a 5-1 win-loss record, while the Philippines, just behind, finished with back-to-back losses and ended with a 4-2 record. Both Gilas Pilipinas and the Tall Blacks have already qualified for the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup in Saudi Arabia this August.
Gilas surely missed the services of Kai Sotto, whose presence could have made a difference in the paint. Sotto averaged 15.5 points, 12.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 2.3 blocks in the qualifiers and delivered a stellar performance in Gilas' win over New Zealand during the second window of the qualifiers last November 21, 2024, at the SM Mall of Asia Arena, finishing with 19 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 steal, and 2 blocks in 33 minutes.
The Scores:
NEW ZEALAND 87 - Smith-Milner 24, Webster 14, Te Rangi 12, Ngatai 11, Britt 8, Wynward 7, Le'afa 5, Darling 3, K Isaac 2, Ball 0, Brown 0, T Isaac 0.
PHILIPPINES 70 - Newsome 13, Fajardo 11, Brownlee 10, Oftana 8, Ramos 8, Edu 7, Aguilar 6, Tamayo 4, Perez 3, Thompson 0, Malonzo 0, Quiambao 0.
Quarters: 30-15, 53-33, 74-55, 87-70 [FULL REPLAY VIDEO] [GAME STATS]
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