MANILA, Philippines – A top-seeded finish in the group stage is at stake when Gilas Pilipinas wraps up its campaign in the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers.
After a stunning 91-84 loss to Chinese Taipei, the Philippines looks to end the qualifiers on a strong note and vent its ire on New Zealand as they slug it out for the No. 1 spot in Group B on Sunday, February 23.
Please refresh this page for updates.
Fourth quarter
- FINAL: New Zealand claims the top spot in Group B with an 87-70 win over Gilas Pilipinas
- NEW ZEALAND 87-70: Tohi Smith-Milner again
- NEW ZEALAND 85-70: Dwight Ramos from deep
- NEW ZEALAND 85-67: CJ Perez with the free throw split
- NEW ZEALAND 85-66: Tohi Smith-Milner putback
- NEW ZEALAND 83-66: Tohi Smith-Milner buries his free throws
- NEW ZEALAND 81-66: Kaia Isaac floater
- NEW ZEALAND 79-66: Corey Webster over AJ Edu
- NEW ZEALAND 77-66: Chris Newsome finds a cutting Justin Brownlee
- NEW ZEALAND 77-64: Chris Newsome skies for the layup
- NEW ZEALAND 77-62: Calvin Oftana answers with his own trey
- NEW ZEALAND 77-59: Corey Webster three
- NEW ZEALAND 74-59: Chris Newsome 2/2 at the stripe
- NEW ZEALAND 74-57: Japeth Aguilar strong attack
Third quarter
- END OF 3Q: Gilas Pilipinas shows signs of life, but New Zealand still holds a 74-55 lead with a quarter left to play
- NEW ZEALAND 74-55: AJ Edu for three
- NEW ZEALAND 74-52: Taylor Britt makes another midrange bucket
- NEW ZEALAND 72-52: Chris Newsome fallaway shot
- NEW ZEALAND 72-50: AJ Edu gets it to go on the third try plus the foul
- NEW ZEALAND 72-48: Calvin Oftana from long range
- NEW ZEALAND 72-45: Tohi Smith-Milner 2/2 at the stripe
- NEW ZEALAND 70-45: AJ Edu knocks down two foul shots
- NEW ZEALAND 70-43: Tohi Smith-Milner drains the open three
- NEW ZEALAND 67-43: Chris Newsome from near the top of the key
- NEW ZEALAND 67-41: Japeth Aguilar banks it in
- NEW ZEALAND 67-39: Tai Wynyard 2/2 at the line
- NEW ZEALAND 65-39: Japeth Aguilar from Dwight Ramos
- NEW ZEALAND 65-37: Reuben Te Rangi corner three
- NEW ZEALAND 62-37: Reuben Te Rangi hits his freebies
- NEW ZEALAND 60-37: Corey Webster sinks another technical free throw
- NEW ZEALAND 59-37: June Mar Fajardo tips it in
- NEW ZEALAND 59-35: Tai Wynyard 1/2 at the line
- NEW ZEALAND 58-35: Corey Webster free throw
- NEW ZEALAND 57-35: Corey Webster shot bounces in
- NEW ZEALAND 55-35: June Mar Fajardo inside
- NEW ZEALAND 55-33: Taylor Britt opens the second-half scoring
Second quarter
- HALFTIME: Gilas Pilipinas needs a lot of catching up to do as New Zealand enjoys a 53-33 lead at the break
- NEW ZEALAND 53-33: Jordan Ngatai sinks the triple
- NEW ZEALAND 50-33: Reuben Te Rangi three
- NEW ZEALAND 47-33: Justin Brownlee gets the contested shot to go
- NEW ZEALAND 47-31: Taylor Britt again
- NEW ZEALAND 45-31: Taylor Britt from midrange
- NEW ZEALAND 43-31: June Mar Fajardo cans both free throws
- NEW ZEALAND 43-29: Tohi Smith-Milner from beyond the arc again
- NEW ZEALAND 40-29: Tohi Smith-Milner tips it in
- NEW ZEALAND 38-29: Jordan Ngatai makes the first but misses the second free throw
- NEW ZEALAND 37-29: June Mar Fajardo one-handed shot is good
- NEW ZEALAND 37-27: Carl Tamayo 1/2 at the stripe
- NEW ZEALAND 37-26: Izayah Le’afa answers from deep
- NEW ZEALAND 34-26: Carl Tamayo gets the bounce on his three-pointer
- NEW ZEALAND 34-23: Calvin Oftana drains the fadeaway jumper
- NEW ZEALAND 34-21: Reuben Te Rangi left wide open inside
- NEW ZEALAND 32-21: CJ Perez banks it in
- NEW ZEALAND 32-19: Corey Webster long two
- NEW ZEALAND 30-19: Chris Newsome and-one
- NEW ZEALAND 30-16: June Mar Fajardo splits his free throws
First quarter
- END OF 1Q: New Zealand fires 6 three-pointers in the opening quarter to mount a commanding 30-15 lead over Gilas Pilipinas
- NEW ZEALAND 30-15: Tohi Smith-Miler with his third trey
- NEW ZEALAND 27-15: Chris Newsome stops and pops
- NEW ZEALAND 27-13: Tai Wynyard 2/2 at the line
- NEW ZEALAND 25-13: Max Darling corner three
- NEW ZEALAND 22-13: Another baseline jumper for Justin Brownlee
- NEW ZEALAND 22-11: Tai Wynyard tips it in
- NEW ZEALAND 20-11: June Mar Fajardo inside
- NEW ZEALAND 20-9: Izayah Le’afa drives
- NEW ZEALAND 18-9: Tohi Smith-Milner drains his second triple
- NEW ZEALAND 15-9: Jordan Ngatai continues to punish the Philippines
- NEW ZEALAND 13-9: Justin Brownlee hits again
- NEW ZEALAND 13-7: Reuben Te Rangi exposes the mismatch
- NEW ZEALAND 11-7: Corey Webster long bomb
- NEW ZEALAND 8-7: Dwight Ramos counters
- NEW ZEALAND 8-5: Jordan Ngatai inside
- NEW ZEALAND 6-5: Dwight Ramos answers with his own trey
- NEW ZEALAND 6-2: Jordan Ngatai for three
- NEW ZEALAND 3-2: Justin Brownlee sinks the baseline jumper
- NEW ZEALAND 3-0: Tohi Smith-Milner lets the three fly
Starters
- GILAS PILIPINAS – Scottie Thompson, Dwight Ramos, June Mar Fajardo, Kevin Quiambao, Justin Brownlee
- NEW ZEALAND – Reuben Te Rangi, Taylor Britt, Corey Webster, Tohi Smith-Milner, Jordan Ngatai
Preview
With both Gilas Pilipinas and New Zealand already qualified for the Asia Cup with identical 4-1 records, the winner of this highly anticipated rematch likely gets a much more favorable draw in the tournament proper in August, which will take place in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Back in their previous matchup in the second window of the qualifiers, the Philippines eked out a 93-89 win against New Zealand — its first victory over the Tall Blacks in a FIBA setting.
However, expect a completely different ball game this time around as Gilas Pilipinas takes on a vengeful home squad without its top big man Kai Sotto, who starred for the Filipinos in that breakthrough win against New Zealand.
In that contest, Sotto delivered arguably his finest performance in a Gilas Pilipinas men’s uniform, racking up a near triple-double of 19 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks.
With Sotto out, look for the struggling Nationals to rely heavily on their naturalized star Justin Brownlee anew as they seek to put an end to their three-game skid dating back to the Doha International Cup.
Brownlee was a one-man show for the Philippines against Chinese Taipei last Thursday, February 20, as he erupted for 39 points on a blistering 8-of-11 shooting from beyond the arc, 6 rebounds, and 8 assists in 38 minutes of play.
Meanwhile, for the new-look Tall Blacks — who are coming off a 92-51 rout of Hong Kong on Thursday — count on the likes of Jordan Ngatai and Reuben Te Rangi to put on a show for the home fans at the Spark Arena as they aim to exact revenge on Gilas Pilipinas.
It was Ngatai who led the Tall Blacks in their 41-point blowout of Hong Kong with 20 points on an efficient 6-of-8 shooting, while Te Rangi added 18 markers on a healthy 7-of-10 field goal clip.
Game time is 10 am, Manila time. – Rappler.com
