Struggling Gilas falls to mighty New Zealand squad to wrap World Cup qualifiers window

Playing their final game on home soil for the February window, the Gilas Pilipinas national put up a gallant stand but fell to the mighty New Zealand Tall Blacks, 88-63, on Sunday in the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Thirdy Ravena led the way for the Philippines with 23 points, five rebounds, five assists, and five steals while Dwight Ramos added 18 points and 10 rebounds in the loss.

The Gilas national struggled in almost all aspects of the game. They shot 24-for-67 from the field for a 35.8-percent clip and missed 13 out of their 23 free throw attempts. They were also outrebounded by New Zealand, 54-34.

The Filipinos put up a good fight in the first quarter behind a big offensive effort from Ravena, who scored eight points to help Gilas stay within striking distance of New Zealand, 22-19.

But the Gilas offense hit a dry spell in the second quarter, failing to put up a point until an Ange Kouame free throw at the 6:59 mark. They only scored a total of 11 points, making only three field goals in the said period, before ending the first half with a 40-30 disadvantage.

The Tall Blacks continued to dominate Gilas in the third, widening the margin to 22 points, 65-43, at the 1:18 mark of the third period.

Ramos proved to be one of the few bright spots as he drilled a buzzer beater to end the third period at 65-48.

Gilas seemed to be re-energized early in the fourth period, with back-to-back shots from Robert Bolick bringing Gilas to 69-53. However, the Tall Blacks continued to pound it inside, making it hard for the Philippine team to catch up, and eventually getting the victory.

New Zealand held their bigget lead at 26, 85-59, after a Hyrum Harris shot at the 1:59 mark of the fourth.

Aside from Ramos and Ravena, Bolick was the only other player to score in twin digits for the Philippines with 10 points.

Tom Vodanovich and Dion Prester led the Tall Blacks' offense with 20 points each while Rob Loe added 15 points on top of his 10 boards.

Former DLSU Green Archer Taane Samuel also had 12 points for the Kiwis.

With the loss, Gilas Pilipinas tallied a 3-1 record in the February window, following Friday's 88-64 victory over India. The nationals were supposed to play South Korea last Thursday and on Monday but the Koreans were disqualified following their withdrawal due to COVID-19.

Being one of the hosts of the 2023 FIBA World Cup alongside Japan and Indonesia, the Philippines is already assured of a slot in basketball's biggest event next year.

The scores:

New Zealand 88 – Vodanovich 20, Prewster 20, Loe 15, Samuel 12, Rusbatch 10, Harris 5, Fahrensohn 4, Britt 2, Gold 0, Cook-Green 0, Rodger 0, Wynyard 0.

Gilas Pilipinas 63 – Ravena 23, Ramos 18, Bolick 10, Kouame 5, Pogoy 4, Rosario 2, Williams 1, Erram 0, Montalbo 0, Gomez de Liano 0, Navarro 0, Tungcab 0.

Quarters: 22-19, 40-30, 65-48, 88-63.

—JMB, GMA News