Gilas Pilipinas comeback falls short in gutsy home effort vs New Zealand

Gilas Pilipinas rallied late but came just short against a tough New Zealand squad, 69-66, in the FIBA Basketball World Cup Asian Qualifiers on Thursday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

The Philippines entered the fourth trailing by double-digits but came as close as two points in the final minute to give their guests a late scare.

Dwight Ramos led Gilas with 16 points and eight rebounds. He scored five clutch points for Gilas late but could not get a potential game-tying shot at the buzzer to fall.

CJ Perez added 15 points, three rebounds, and three assists while Juan Gomez de Liano contributed 10 points to the cause. AJ Edu scored only five points but made his mark in other ways with team-highs of 11 rebounds, four assists, and three blocks.

The Kiwis led 57-46 at the end of three quarters before the Filipinos battled back in the final canto.

Facing a 66-57 deficit with 3:30 remaining, Gilas fired off a 7-0 run, capped by a Ramos three, to make it 66-64 with 47 seconds left. New Zealand's Yanni Wetzell converted on a huge putback to make it a four-point lead but Ramos quickly responded to make it 68-66 with eight seconds left.

Reuben Te Rangi only came away with a split from the free throw line, leaving the door open for a Gilas opportunity to potentially send the game into overtime but Ramos' last shot missed the mark.

New Zealand was led by Max Darling's 11 points while Alex McNaught and Sam Mennenga chipped in with 10 markers apiece.

Perez got off to a red-hot start as he scored all of Gilas’ points, including back-to-back threes, in a strong 10-5 run to open the game.

A late 7-0 run by the Kiwis to close the opening quarter made it 25-21 for the visiting team. Another 7-1 run for New Zealand to start the second pushed the gap to 10 points, 32-22. The Philippines continued to trail by double-digits until Gilas finally got going late in the period.

Ramos knocked down three of four free throws before Calvin Oftana hit a three-pointer to kick off the Gilas rally. AJ Edu scored a basket inside and Ramos capped it with a jumper, making it 10 unanswered points for the Filipinos to head into the halftime break in a 37-37 deadlock.

Gilas took a 41-37 lead to open the second half behind baskets from Ramos and Justin Brownlee, who scored his first points of the game at 9:01 mark of the third quarter.

But it became a struggle at that point as New Zealand buckled down to go on a 20-4 run the rest of the way in the third. McNaught, Te Rangi, and Jordan Nagatai all knocked down triples while the Kiwis’ defense held strong, allowing only one field goal for the Filipinos. That allowed New Zealand to enter the final period with an 11-point lead, 57-46.

Brownlee finished with four points, shooting just 2-for-10 from the field in a tough night.

The scores:
New Zealand - Darling 11, Mennenga 10, McNaught 10, Harrison 9, Te Rangi 7, Davison 5, Britt 5, Wetzell 4, Ngatai 3, Murray 3, Smith-Milner 2, Rasmussen 0.

Gilas Pilipinas - Ramos 16, Perez 15, Gomez de Liano 10, Millora-Brown 7, Edu 5, Brownlee 4, Oftana 3, Tamayo 3, Quiambao 2, Thompson 1, Newsome 0, Fajardo 0.

Quarters: 25-21, 37-37, 57-46, 69-66.

—JMB, GMA Integrated News