By REYNALD MAGALLON
Gilas Pilipinas showed a much better fight in the second half of a no-bearing game but the flat start still came haunting the Nationals, absorbing a crushing 87-70 defeat at the hands of New Zealand to wrap up its assignments in the FIBA 2025 Asia Cup qualifiers on Sunday, Feb. 23 at the Spark Arena in Auckland.
The Nationals had much better offensive flow and better defensive stand in the last two quarters but were not enough to complete their comeback bid against the Tall Blacks, who successfully avenged their November loss to the Filipinos.
The Nationals trailed by as many as 28 but threatened and came closest at 11, 66-77 after a huge rally buoyed by the loud and cheerful Filipino crowd inside the venue.
Corey Webster and Kaia Isaac, however, restored order with back-to-back hits as the hosts unloaded 10 unanswered points to take a 85-66 cushion.
After exploding for 39 points in the tough 84-91 loss to Chinese Taipei, Justin Brownlee was limited to just 10 points as the Tall Blacks forced him to become a passer and refer more to his teammates.
In turn, Gilas locals had a much better performance with all but one player managed to score this time with Chris Newsome leading the way with 13, June Mar Fajardo with 11 while Calvin Oftana and Dwight Ramos had eight apiece.
As good as the improvements were for Gilas, a lethargic start to the contest spelled doom for the Filipinos as they allowed the Kiwi to explode for 30 while only scoring 15 in the opening frame.
The bad start for Gilas and the hot shooting from deep for the Tall Blacks set the tone for what became a game of catch up for the Filipinos.
Tohi Smith-Milner proved to be the biggest thorn to the sides of Gilas with 25 points, spiked by five triples while Webster, whose late baskets kept Gilas at bay, wound up with 14.
Reuben Te Rangi had 12 and Jordan Ngatai had 11 as New Zealand claimed the top seed in Group B with a 5-1 record while Gilas ended at 4-2. Both squads are already assured of a spot in the FIBA Asia Cup main event in August in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
