Just like they did during their days at National University-Nazareth School, Carl Tamayo and Kevin Quiambao once again teamed up to power Gilas Pilipinas Men on Sunday at Fly Palmy Arena in Palmerston North, New Zealand.
The versatile forwards spearheaded Gilas to a convincing 92-61 victory over Manawatu in the first of two tune-up games ahead of the FIBA World Cup 2027 Asian Qualifiers.
Gilas will next face Franklin on June 30 before taking on New Zealand on Friday at 6:30 p.m. (Manila time) in the Asian Qualifiers.
Tamayo led the way with 14 points on 50-percent shooting, along with four assists and three rebounds. Quiambao backed him up with 13 points and two rebounds.
Behind their strong play, Gilas built a commanding 25-12 lead at the end of the opening quarter before extending its advantage to 67-45 entering the fourth period.
The Nationals continued to pull away in the final frame, with the 31-point winning margin standing as their largest lead of the game.
Troy Rosario was perfect from the field, going 5-of-5 to finish with 11 points, while Juan Gomez de Liano contributed nine points, seven assists, and two steals.
Mike Phillips impressed in his Gilas debut with eight points and nine rebounds, while Dwight Ramos chipped in eight points and seven rebounds as all of Tim Cone’s players got on the scoreboard.
Naturalized star Justin Brownlee sat out the game for rest.
Manawatu, which finished the previous NZNBL season with a 9-11 record, was paced by Kazlo Evans with 11 points and Jameer Reed with 10.
Team captain Jamal Poplar added six points and grabbed a game-high 17 rebounds in the loss.
The Scores:
Philippines 92 – Tamayo 14, Quiambao 13, Rosario 11, Gomez de Liaño 9, Ramos 8, Phillips 8, Edu 7, Newsome 7, Abarrientos 6, Baltazar 5, Fajardo 4.
Manawatu 61 – Evans 11, Reed 10, Essahaty 9, Richards 8, Small 7, Poplar 6, Collins 5, Zahran 3, Makoii 2, Caldwell 0, Leota 0, Abbott 0.
Quarterscores: 25-12, 45-33, 67-45, 92-61.
