New Zealand crushes Gilas, grabs lead in Group B

MANILA, Philippines — Gilas Pilipinas ended the third and final window of the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers winless after absorbing an 87-70 beating at the hands of a vengeful New Zealand side on Sunday at the Spark Arena in Auckland.

The Tall Blacks shot 10-of-19 from downtown in the opening half as they grabbed a sizable 53-33 halftime lead, which they never relinquished.

The Filipinos struggled mightily against a charged-up Tall Blacks, led by Australian NBL veteran Tohi Smith-Milner, who fired a game-high 25 points, along with nine rebounds and two assists.

The 29-year-old Smith-Milner spiced up his all-around effort with five triples for the world no. 22 New Zealand, which closed the qualifiers with a 5-1 record to secure the no. 1 spot in Group B.

It was sweet revenge for the Tall Blacks, who dropped a narrow 93-89 decision to the Filipinos last November in the second window at the Mall of Asia Arena.

The Philippines struggled against New Zealand, and obviously missed the inside presence of 7-foot-3 Kai Sotto, who is out with a torn ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) on his knee.

Gilas settled for second spot at 4-2, having lost back-to-back games since opening the first two windows with four straight wins.

The Philippines also bowed to Twain, 91-84 in an away game last Thursday.

Good thing though, Gilas already secured a spot in the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 slated this August in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Corey Webster had 14 points, Reuben Te Rangi flirted with a double-double after adding 12 and grabbing nine boards, while Jordan Ngatai chipped in 11.

Chris Newsome led Gilas with 13 points, June Mar Fajardo had 11, while Justin Brownlee was held down to just 10 on a quiet 5-of-8 shooting.

The 36-year-old Gilas naturalized player cooled down against New Zealand after firing 39 points against Taiwan.