Photo credit: FIBA | fiba.basketball
World No. 36 and Asia’s No. 7 Gilas Pilipinas Men (2–1) fell in a close contest against World No. 25 New Zealand Tall Blacks, 69–66, in their first game of the second window of the 2027 FIBA Basketball World Cup Asian Qualifiers (Group A) on Thursday, February 26, 2026, at the SM Mall of Asia Arena. [FULL REPLAY VIDEO BY ONESPORTS]
The Tall Blacks survived a late rally by the Philippines to secure their first win and hand the hosts their first loss of the qualifiers. Gilas swept Guam in the first window with dominant 87–46 and 95–71 victories, while the Tall Blacks dropped their first two games against Australia in close contests, 84–79 and 79–77.
(To be updated...)
Gilas will now focus on their next game against World No. 6 Australia (3–0) on Sunday, March 1, 2026, at 7:30pm at the MOA Arena [LIVE].
The Boomers earlier defeated Guam (0–3), 93–80, for their third straight win.
The Scores:
NEW ZEALAND 69 - Darling 11, Mennenga 10, McNaught 10, Harrison 9, Te Rangi 7, Davison 5, Britt 5, Wetzell 4, Murray 3, Ngatai 3, Smith-Milner 2, Rasmussen 0.
PHILIPPINES 66 - Ramos 16, Perez 15, Gómez de Liaño 10, Millora-Brown 7, Edu 5, Brownlee 4, Oftana 3, Tamayo 3, Quiambao 2, Thompson 1, Newsome 0, Fajardo 0.
Quarters: 25-21, 37-37, 57-46, 69-66. [FULL REPLAY VIDEO] | [STATS] | [HIGHLIGHTS VIDEO]
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