Gilas Pilipinas Men put up a valiant fight against New Zealand but ultimately fell short, suffering a 94–86 defeat that dropped them to 0–2 in the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 early Friday morning (Manila time) at the King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
It was a heartbreaking loss for the Filipinos, who now face a do-or-die clash against Iraq on Saturday at 4:00 PM (Manila time) for the final playoff spot in Group D.
“We’re disappointed that we lost two in a row. We didn’t see that coming,” said Gilas head coach Tim Cone. “We’re disappointed, but the tournament is not over for us. We have a big game against Iraq to get to the next round.”
(C) FIBA.basketball
Earlier in the day, Iraq absorbed a heavy 87–60 loss to Chinese Taipei, which now shares the group lead with New Zealand.
The Tall Blacks came out red-hot, hitting 9-of-15 shots from beyond the arc in the first half to establish a commanding lead.
Jordan Ngatai spearheaded the early surge, scoring 11 of his 22 points on a perfect 4-of-4 shooting in the opening quarter.
New Zealand led by as many as 18 points, 55–37, with 1:14 remaining in the first half.
“We’re obviously struggling in the first half, we are not playing well in the first halves,” Cone admitted. “I thought we played a good second half, but we just couldn’t get over the hump. Had a couple of turnovers down the stretch that prevented us from making the game tight.”
But Gilas refused to go down quietly.
Powered by the dynamic duo of Justin Brownlee and Dwight Ramos, the Philippines roared back in the third quarter. The pair combined for 20 of the team’s 27 points to cut the deficit to just six, 74-68, entering the final frame.
Brownlee kept going in the fourth, drilling a clutch three-pointer with 3:52 left to pull Gilas within three, 85–82.
However, Taylor Britt answered the call for New Zealand, scoring back-to-back baskets and taking full control in the clutch to fend off the comeback.
Costly turnovers in the closing stretch ultimately doomed Gilas’ rally.
(C) FIBA.basketball
Britt finished with 19 points — eight of them in the fourth quarter — while also dishing out seven assists. Flynn Cameron and Mojave King chipped in 12 and 11 points, respectively, while Ben Gold grabbed 11 rebounds and added six points for the Tall Blacks.
New Zealand is set to face Chinese Taipei on Saturday for an outright quarterfinal berth in the continental tournament.
After giving up 12 threes against Chinese-Taipei, Gilas surrendered 13 against New Zealand.
Fouls also continued to plague Gilas, resulting in 15 turnovers that allowed the Tall Blacks to go 17-of-21 from the free throw line.
Brownlee, who fouled out in the previous game against Chinese Taipei, bounced back with a monster performance, scoring a game-high 37 points to go along with five rebounds and three assists.
Ramos added 19 points, four rebounds, and three steals.
June Mar Fajardo, the eight-time PBA MVP, also bounced back from a quiet two-point outing the other day, tallying 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting.
Scottie Thompson hauled down seven rebounds and dished out four assists along with two points.
Kevin Quiambao, who led the late rally against Chinese Taipei, saw limited action with just nine minutes on the floor, while Carl Tamayo played only seven minutes.
Jamie Malonzo was once again benched, along with CJ Perez and Japeth Aguilar.
Despite the setbacks, Cone remains optimistic.
“We just need to keep battling, keep our heads going forward, and don’t sink because of the last two losses. There’s a lot to do and we will be ready for the next game,” he said.
The Scores:
New Zealand 94 – Ngatai 22, Britt 19, Cameron 12, King 11, Smith-Milner 8, Darling 8, Gold 6, Davison 5, Andrew 3, Murray 0.
Philippines 86 – Brownlee 37, Ramos 19, Fajardo 11, Newsome 8, Quiambao 5, Tamayo 4, Thompson 2, Oftana 0, Edu 0.
Quarterscores: 23-18, 55-41, 74-68, 94-86.
