MANILA – New Zealand Tall Blacks manhandled Gilas Pilipinas, 87-70, to close the qualifying round of the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup on Sunday morning at the Spark Arena in New Zealand.
With the outcome, the Tall Blacks secured the top spot in Group B with a 5-1 win-loss slate, while Gilas Pilipinas ended at second place with 4-2 and will still advance to the FIBA Asia Cup in Saudi Arabia this August.
Gilas Pilipinas were only down 7-8 after early hits from Dwight Ramos, but the Tall Blacks banked on their torrid three-point shooting to stretch the advantage to 30-15 after the opening quarter.
The Philippine squad started strong in the second frame as they cut the deficit to 29-37 following inside hits from June Mar Fajardo, but the Tall Blacks leaned on their three-point shots anew to establish a 53-33 halftime lead.
The Tall Blacks turned aggressive early in the third quarter as the lead swelled to 27 points, but Gilas Pilipinas had a late surge to cut the deficit to 55-74 entering in final quarter.
Gilas Pilipinas continued its run in the fourth quarter as they cut the deficit to 66-82, but the Tall Blacks responded with baskets from inside and outside to secure the win.
Tohi Smith-Milner top-scored for the Tall Blacks with 25 points, Corey Webster added 14 markers, while Reuben Te Rangi and Jordan Ngatai had 12 and 11 points, respectively.
Chris Newsome top-scored for Gilas Pilipinas with 13 points, while Fajardo and Justin Brownlee added 11 and 10 points, respectively.
“It’s a tough trip, but it is what makes us better,” Ramos said after the game. “We were winning a lot of games before and now, we’re starting to lose. So it’s humbling for us.”
He added: “It’s not too good when you win too much, you get complacent. It’s good that we got humbled before the Asia Cup. We’ll know we got to prepare harder than this.”/PN
