New Zealand escapes Gilas Pilipinas, keeps PH winless in FIBA Asia Cup

A gutsy Gilas Pilipinas squad gave New Zealand a late scare, but ultimately fell short, 94-86, to remain winless in Group D of the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup on Thursday at the King Abdullah Sports City, Saudi Arabia.

The Philippines fell behind by as many as 18 points in the first half but fought back late, closing back to within three points in the fourth quarter. But the Tall Blacks got the plays they needed down the stretch to come away with the win — their second in two outings in the tournament so far.

Jordan Ngatai led the Kiwis with 22 points on near-perfect shooting from the field (7-of-8, 87.5%) while Taylor Britt added 19 markers, including six of his team’s last nine points in the contest.

Justin Brownlee shot the lights out with 37 points, but that was not enough on this night as Gilas fell to 0-2 following their loss to Chinese Taipei in their opening game.

Brownlee led Gilas early as he scored eight of his team’s first 12 points in a physical, back and forth start to the game.

The Tall Blacks then opened up a comfortable lead, 23-14, behind a 9-0 run led by Max Darling, Flynn Cameron, and Ngatai, but Gilas scored the last two baskets of the quarter as they closed back in, 23-18, after one.

Ngatai, who was on fire in the first half, knocked down consecutive triples to give the Kiwis another sizable lead, 35-26, in the second period. Despite Brownlee’s efforts, he and Gilas couldn’t do much to slow a 17-6 run led by Mojave Jackson King, allowing New Zealand to take a massive 55-37 lead.

The Filipinos hung tough, though, with June Mar Fajardo converting inside and Kevin Quiambao finishing on the break to score the last four points of the half and cut their deficit down, 55-41.

Brownlee and Ngatai each scored 19 points by halftime, with the Tall Black shooting a perfect 6-of-6 from the field, including four threes, and 3-of-3 from the stripe. New Zealand as a team shot 9-of-15 (60%) from 3 over the first two periods in a blistering shooting display.

The Philippines got a huge lift in the third as Brownlee and Ramos each scored 10 markers, including all of the points in a 9-0 run that got Gilas back to within four points, 68-64, following a booming three from Brownlee.

Gilas closed the quarter down by just six, 74-68, after outscoring the Tall Blacks, 27-19.

Despite New Zealand pushing the lead back up to double figures, 81-70, Gilas continued to battle.

A three-pointer from Brownlee at the 6:14 mark kept them within striking distance, 81-75. Ramos scored a bucket that was soon followed by yet another Brownlee triple — his seventh of the game — as the Filipinos clawed back to within three, 85-82, with 3:52 remaining.

But New Zealand got some big buckets from Britt down the stretch as they sealed the win.

Brownlee shot 12-of-19 (63.2%) from the field and 7-of-12 (58.3%) from three in a terrific performance.

Ramos also came up big for the Philippines, finishing with 19 markers, 16 of which came in the second half. June Mar Fajardo also reached double figures with 11 points.

The Tall Blacks, though, just had more firepower. Aside from Ngatai and Britt, Cameron chipped in with 12 markers and King added 11. Darling and Tohi Smith-Milner also contributed eight points apiece.

Gilas has one more game in the group phase, a matchup against Iraq, which s also 0-2. New Zealand, meanwhile, faces Chinese Taipei in a battle for the No. 1 spot in the group.

The scores:

New Zealand 94 - Ngatai 22, Britt 19, Cameron 12, King 11, Darling 8, Smith-Milner 8, Gold 6, Davison 5, Andrew 3, Murray 0.

Gilas Pilipinas 86 - Brownlee 37, Ramos 19, Fajardo 11, Newsome 8, Quiambao 5, Tamayo 4, Thompson 2, Edu 0, Oftana 0.

Quarters: 23-18, 55-41, 74-68, 94-86.

—JMB, GMA Integrated News