Philippines vs New Zealand – FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers

Finally solving the New Zealand puzzle, Gilas Pilipinas defends its homecourt against the Tall Blacks in the second window of the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers

Kai Sotto turns in arguably his finest performance for the national squad as Gilas Pilipinas beats New Zealand for the first time, 93-89, to stay unbeaten in the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers at 3-0.

Fourth quarter

• FINAL: Gilas Pilipinas finally scores a breakthrough win against New Zealand to stay undefeated in the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers, 93-89
• GILAS PILIPINAS 93-89: Justin Brownlee counters with two crucial free throws
• GILAS PILIPINAS 91-89: Tom Vodanovich hits from downtown to cut the lead to just two points
• GILAS PILIPINAS 91-86: Tom Vodanovich tips in the miss
• GILAS PILIPINAS 91-84: Chris Newsome connects on a three-pointer off the timeout
• GILAS PILIPINAS 88-84: Justin Brownlee extends the Philippines’ lead back to two possessions with a pair of charities
• GILAS PILIPINAS 86-84: Sam Waardenburg stops and pops from mid-range
• GILAS PILIPINAS 86-82: Dwight Ramos goes 2/2 from the stripe
• GILAS PILIPINAS 84-82: Tom Vodanovich pulls New Zealand within just two points with a three-pointer
• GILAS PILIPINAS 84-79: Justin Brownlee rattles in two free throws
• GILAS PILIPINAS 82-79: Taylor Britt knocks down a long bomb
• GILAS PILIPINAS 82-76: Scottie Thompson feeds the cutting Kai Sotto for a two-handed slam
• GILAS PILIPINAS 80-76: Kai Sotto and Tom Vodanovich trade twos
• GILAS PILIPINAS 78-74: Dwight Ramos splits from the line, Taylor Britt scores inside
• GILAS PILIPINAS 77-72: Walter Brown nails a corner three
• GILAS PILIPINAS 77-69: Justin Brownlee completes the three-point play
• GILAS PILIPINAS 76-69: Justin Brownlee absorbs the contact and converts
• GILAS PILIPINAS 74-69: Tyrell Harrison scores off a two-handed jam
• GILAS PILIPINAS 74-67: Corey Webster goes 2/3 from the line
• GILAS PILIPINAS 74-65: Sam Waardenburg responds with two foul shots
• GILAS PILIPINAS 74-63: Justin Brownlee swishes two freebies

Third quarter

• END OF 3Q: Gilas Pilipinas ends the quarter on a 16-3 run to grab a 72-63 lead
• GILAS PILIPINAS 72-63: Corey Webster ends the scoring drought for New Zealand
• GILAS PILIPINAS 72-60: Carl Tamayo scores inside off a slick pass from Dwight Ramos
• GILAS PILIPINAS 70-60: Chris Newsome soars for the putback
• GILAS PILIPINAS 68-60: Justin Brownlee skies for the fast break layup
• GILAS PILIPINAS 66-60: Kai Sotto continues to dominate inside
• GILAS PILIPINAS 64-60: Kai Sotto makes the bonus
• GILAS PILIPINAS 63-60: Kai Sotto gets blocked, but he scores on the second serving plus the foul
• GILAS PILIPINAS 61-60: Scottie Thompson dials from long distance with 3:35 left in the quarter
• NEW ZEALAND 60-58: Scottie Thompson saves the ball and Chris Newsome scores
• NEW ZEALAND 60-56: Sam Waardenburg for three
• NEW ZEALAND 57-56: Chris Newsome layup is good
• NEW ZEALAND 57-54: Izayah Le’afa with his second triple
• 54-54: Justin Brownlee slithers his way inside
• NEW ZEALAND 54-52: Corey Webster again
• 52-52: Kai Sotto hauls down the offensive rebound and puts it back in
• NEW ZEALAND 52-50: Kai Sotto locates June Mar Fajardo underneath the basket
• NEW ZEALAND 52-48: Corey Webster answers with his own trey
• NEW ZEALAND 49-48: Dwight Ramos lights it up from deep
• NEW ZEALAND 49-45: Corey Webster stops and pops
• NEW ZEALAND 47-45: Taylor Britt knocks down the midrange jumper

Second quarter

• HALFTIME: Three straight triples for Tom Vodanovich as the first half ends tied at 45-45
• GILAS PILIPINAS 45-42: Dwight Ramos completes the fast break
• GILAS PILIPINAS 43-42: Tom Vodanovich back-to-back triples
• GILAS PILIPINAS 43-39: Justin Brownlee sends the crowd to a frenzy with a three-pointer
• GILAS PILIPINAS 40-39: CJ Perez sinks a triple immediately off the bench
• NEW ZEALAND 39-37: Hyrum Harris catches the Philippines sleeping and drains the trey
• GILAS PILIPINAS 37-36: Kai Sotto slams it home
• NEW ZEALAND 36-35: Gilas Pilipinas turnover leads to a Tom Vodanovich triple
• GILAS PILIPINAS 35-33: Sam Waardenburg with the bang and the bucket
• GILAS PILIPINAS 35-31: Scottie Thompson from beyond the arc
• GILAS PILIPINAS 32-31: Scottie Thompson lays it in
• NEW ZEALAND 31-30: Justin Brownlee finds a cutting Scottie Thompson for the deuce
• NEW ZEALAND 31-28: Justin Brownlee scores underneath
• NEW ZEALAND 31-26: Taylor Britt 1/2 at the stripe
• NEW ZEALAND 30-26: Scottie Thompson with the offensive rebound and the dish to June Mar Fajardo
• NEW ZEALAND 30-24: Corey Webster attacks strong
• NEW ZEALAND 28-24 Scottie Thompson shrugs off the size mismatch and converts the short stab
• NEW ZEALAND 28-22: Justin Brownlee rebounds his own miss and scores the putback
• NEW ZEALAND 28-20: Sam Waardenburg joins the three-point party
• NEW ZEALAND 25-20: Corey Webster buries his third triple of the game

First quarter

• END OF 1Q: Sam Waardenburg beats the buzzer to give New Zealand a 22-20 lead
• 20-20: Flynn Cameron makes both free throws
• GILAS PILIPINAS 20-18: Calvin Oftana gives the Philippines its first lead with a corner triple
• NEW ZEALAND 18-17: Kai Sotto with the dream shake
• NEW ZEALAND 18-15: Kai Sotto flips it in
• NEW ZEALAND 18-13: Corey Webster continues to do damage
• NEW ZEALAND 16-13: Chris Newsome 2/2 at the line
• NEW ZEALAND 16-11: Izayah Le’afa from deep
• NEW ZEALAND 13-11: Kai Sotto drops it off to June Mar Fajardo underneath
• NEW ZEALAND 13-9: Dwight Ramos wide open for the corner trey
• NEW ZEALAND 13-6: Justin Brownlee with back-to-back buckets
• NEW ZEALAND 13-4: Sam Waardenburg for three
• NEW ZEALAND 10-4: Justin Brownlee inside
• NEW ZEALAND 10-2: Sam Waardenburg scores over Kai Sotto
• NEW ZEALAND 8-2: Kai Sotto puts the Philippines on the board with a pair of free throws
• NEW ZEALAND 8-0: Back-to-back triples for Corey Webster
• NEW ZEALAND 5-0: Corey Webster drains the long bomb
• NEW ZEALAND 2-0: Walter Brown tips it in

Starters

• GILAS PILIPINAS – Justin Brownlee, Kai Sotto, June Mar Fajardo, Dwight Ramos, Scottie Thompson
• NEW ZEALAND – Taylor Britt, Walter Brown, Corey Webster, Tyrell Harrison, Sam Waardenburg

Preview

Will the fifth time be the charm for Gilas Pilipinas?

Still winless in four tries against New Zealand in FIBA competition, Gilas Pilipinas aims to finally solve the Tall Blacks’ puzzle when they clash in the second window of the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers at the Mall of Asia Arena on Thursday, November 21. 

The Filipinos have dropped their first four FIBA-sanctioned matches versus New Zealand by an average margin of 24.3 points, including a 92-75 setback in their last encounter in the Asia Cup back in 2022.

But with the Philippines parading a deeper and a more experienced 12-man lineup bannered by Justin Brownlee this time around, Gilas Pilipinas head coach Tim Cone believes the Filipinos are well capable of finally scoring a breakthrough win against the Kiwis.

“I don’t think they’ve seen a team like the team we’re assembling before so I think we got a shot at beating them,” said Cone.  

Coming off a grueling PBA Governors’ Cup finals run with Barangay Ginebra, expect Brownlee to show no signs of fatigue and lead the charge for the Filipinos as they shoot for a 3-0 slate in Group B.

Gilas Pilipinas is currently tied with New Zealand at the top spot of Group B with identical 2-0 records, and the winner of this highly anticipated showdown will inch closer to securing an outright berth in next year’s Asia Cup. 

Aside from Brownlee — who led the Philippines with 21 points per game in the first window — look for Japan B. League standouts Kai Sotto and Dwight Ramos to deliver as the Filipinos go up against a new-look New Zealand side powered by high-scoring guards Izayah Le’afa and Corey Webster, as well as former PBA import Tom Vodanovich.

Le’afa and Webster did not see action for the Tall Blacks in the opening window last February as they were then led by another ex-PBA reinforcement Ethan Rusbatch. 

Curiously, Rusbatch — who averaged a team-best 16.5 points in the Kiwis’ first two matches — is not included in their 13-man pool for the second window.

Game time is 7:30 pm. – Rappler.com