New Zealand hands Gilas double-OT heartbreak

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

That was so close, yet so far for the Gilas Pilipinas men’s national basketball team.

What seemed like an attainable goal suddenly slipped away after the New Zealand Tall Blacks dealt Gilas a frustrating double-overtime loss, 106-102, in the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers on July 3, 2026, at Spark Arena in Auckland.

Gilas had plenty of chances to pull off the massive win in uncharted territory, but the home team displayed grit and delivered a clutch two-way outing in the crucial closing minutes of both overtime periods.

With only 4:58 left in the intense nip-and-tuck affair, Gilas launched an early exclamation point after Dwight Ramos cashed in a huge 3-pointer to extend the Philippines’ lead to seven points, 77-70.

However, New Zealand put Gilas through the grinder as it capitalized on the visitors’ string of unforced turnovers, storming back with a decisive 13-3 run to retake the advantage, 83-80, in the final 17 seconds of the game.

Needing a trey to stay alive, Juan Gomez de Liaño answered the call for Gilas as the current Converge FiberXers star drained a cold-blooded stop-and-pop 3-pointer to tie things up at 83-all.

New Zealand had the chance to win the game in regulation, but the match officials waved off Jordan Ngatai’s buzzer-beating tip-in attempt, forcing the first overtime of the game.

Neither team took full control in the first extension period, but de Liaño once again sparked Gilas with a huge 3-pointer from the right elbow that gave the Filipinos a slim two-point lead, 93-91, with only nine seconds left in overtime.

Unfortunately, Gilas failed to catch a break after Ramos was whistled for a reach-in foul in an attempt to swipe the ball out of the hands of New Zealand’s Shea Ili.

Calm and collected, Ili sank both of his free throws with only five seconds left, paving the way for the second overtime of the chess match.

Gilas stole the driver’s seat and was two minutes away from bagging the win off a Justin Brownlee trifecta, which gave the Philippines a 100-96 advantage.

Just when Gilas thought it could complete the revenge tour, shades of its poor closing performance in the fourth quarter stalled its chances of protecting the lead as New Zealand countered with a 6-0 run to clinch a two-point lead, 102-100, with only 37 seconds left.

Kevin Quiambao lifted the entire nation’s spirits with a game-tying floater, but New Zealand still got the last laugh, spearheaded by Sam Mennenga’s putback, Carlin Davison’s big steal, and Ili’s clutch free-throw shooting.

“It would have been nice to come down here and steal a game,” Gilas head coach Tim Cone said after the disappointing loss.

“The bottom line was our guys came to play. They expended a lot of energy just staying in the game. Went down by twelve early in the game, battled back, and came ahead by seven, but again we couldn’t just hold it.”

Leading the way for Gilas was the young 1-2 punch of de Liaño and Quiambao, who scored 23 points apiece, while Ramos chipped in 18 points, four rebounds, three assists, and two blocks.

On the other hand, the Tall Blacks once again cracked the Brownlee code, holding the Philippines’ naturalized star to just five points, eight rebounds, and four assists.

During their last meeting on Feb. 26, 2026, New Zealand also stopped Brownlee from weaving his magic, limiting him to just four points on 2-of-10 shooting from the field.

Gilas will look to redeem itself and avoid a 0-2 FIBA road trip today against Australia at RAC Arena in Perth.

Fact-check note: The 106-102 double-overtime score, July 3, 2026, game date, Spark Arena venue, and leading scorers were consistent with FIBA and Basketball New Zealand reports.