Gilas’ FIBA Asia Cup hopes in danger after loss to New Zealand

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

The Gilas Pilipinas men’s national basketball team can’t catch a break after suffering a heartbreaking 94–86 loss to New Zealand in the ongoing FIBA Asia Cup tournament on August 7, 2025, at King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

With another defeat, Gilas remained winless and dropped to a surprising 0-2 record—one of their worst starts in any FIBA-sanctioned event at the Asian level.

Watching the New Zealand game was like replaying Gilas’ first loss to Chinese Taipei.

For the second straight game, the Filipino hoopers gave up double-digit conversions from beyond the arc and trailed for most of the contest.

New Zealand blew the game wide open early, extending their lead to as much as 18 points in the first half behind Jordan Ngatai’s four straight three-pointers.

Gilas briefly held the lead in the opening three minutes, but as New Zealand found its rhythm from deep, the Filipinos’ early advantage quickly disappeared.

The Tall Blacks dictated the tempo from that point on.

New Zealand’s up-tempo offense kept Gilas on their heels, as the Kiwis pushed the ball off every defensive rebound.

They didn’t allow Gilas to settle into their half-court defense and rained in quick pull-up threes that fell at will.

Gilas gained some momentum late in the second quarter by scoring three straight baskets, which brought a spark heading into the second half.

That run carried over after halftime when head coach Tim Cone implemented a defensive shift, mixing zone and man-to-man coverage.

The adjustment slowed down New Zealand’s three-point attack and allowed Gilas to convert rebounds into transition points, mostly led by Justin Brownlee.

With two minutes left in the third quarter, Gilas trimmed the deficit to just three points, but New Zealand responded with timely baskets that made it hard for the Filipinos to get over the hump.

Gilas had another opportunity in the fourth to complete a comeback, again coming within three points, but costly turnovers and clutch shooting from the Tall Blacks ended their rally.

Brownlee’s heroic effort was not enough, as the naturalized forward led all scorers with 37 points, five rebounds, and three assists.

Dwight Ramos also delivered for Gilas with 19 points, four rebounds, and three steals.

June Mar Fajardo added 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting in a decent bounce-back game.

Gilas will look to keep their FIBA Asia Cup hopes alive as they take on Iraq today in a must-win match.