Gilas wary as Kiwis eye payback win

STUNNED by Taiwan the last time out, Gilas Pilipinas will be eyeing for a bounce-back victory when it plays New Zealand before an expected hostile territory on Sunday at the close of the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers third and final window at the Spark Arena.

Game time is 10 a.m. (Manila time).

Both squads enter the all-important match tied at 4-1 for a share of first place in Group B.

Gilas fell short in its rally against Taiwan, 91-84, while New Zealand hammered hapless Hong Kong, 92-51, on Thursday night.

"No one feels worse about this devastating loss than I do, and I take full ownership of it," said coach Tim Cone. "We knew they (Taiwanese) were going to be much improved from the last time we played them, but they were even better than we thought. That's on me. No doubt, I should have prepared us better."

With the higher seeding at stake heading to the FIBA Asia Cup tournament proper set this August in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Gilas will be shooting for a victory against a souped-up, extra motivated New Zealand side.

Challenges though abound for Gilas.

For one, the Filipinos won't have young big man Kai Sotto this time to patrol the shaded lane as he is still some nine months away from recovering from a torn ACL (anterior cruciate ligament).

The absence of the 7-foot-3 Filipino slot man, who averaged 15.5 points and 12.5 rebounds during the first two windows, will surely be missed.

But knowing coach Tim Cone, he expects his other front court players to step up big when they play the physical Tall Blacks.

AJ Edu gave a good account of himself playing for the first time in the qualifiers under Cone, finishing with 10 points and six rebounds, along with a block in over 26 minutes of play.

However, the 6-10 Edu and veteran Gilas campaigner June Mar Fajardo will have to be better this time when they go up against the Tall Blacks, who are itching to get back against the Philippine team.

You see, Gilas scored a historic 93-89 win against New Zealand in the second window last November at the Mall of Asia Arena.

But now that they are playing right at their home floor, the Tall Blacks would surely want to grab a victory at their home floor.

Leading New Zealand's revenge tour against the visiting Philippine team is forward Jordan Ngatai, a veteran of the Austrian pro league squad Kapfenberg Bulls, along with Australia National Basketball League veterans Reuben Te Rangi and Tohi Smith-Milner.

The Tall Blacks trio were members of the New Zealand side that won the bronze medal in the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia.

Other key members of the Tall Blacks' like Walter Brown, Corey Webster, Max Darling, Taylor Britt, Sam Waardenburg and Kaia Isaac, are also looking for payback, having been part of Tall Blacks that fell to Gilas last November.