GILAS NEEDS TO BE AT ITS BEST TO HAVE CHANCE AGAINST NEW ZEALAND

GILAS Pilipinas plays an all-important game in the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 on Wednesday against New Zealand that could determine their route to the quarterfinals, that is, if they even get there.

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PHILIPPINES VS. NEW ZEALAND

When: Wednesday, August 7. 6 p.m. Jeddah time / Wednesday, August 7. 11 p.m. Philippine time

Where: King Abdullah Sports City, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Gilas faces formidable foe in Tall Blacks

Gilas looks to bounce back from the opening day loss to Chinese Taipei when they go back to the floor of the King Abdullah Sports City. Standing in the way, however, is a formidable foe in world No. 22 New Zealand. Gilas split its games against the Tall Blacks during the qualifiers with the Filipino ballers winning the first match, 93-89, last November 21 at the Mall of Asia Arena, and the Kiwis taking the return tie at home, 87-70, last February 23.

Kiwis out for a shot at top-seed in Group D

Unlike the Philippines, New Zealand started the tournament with a victory against  Iraq, 100-78. Another victory will give the Tall Blacks a chance at the No. 1 seed which means an outright spot in the quarterfinals. But Chinese Taipei is also unbeaten, and is also chasing that slot as it faces Iraq early in the day. Philippines still has a chance at that top-seed even with the loss to Chinese Taipei.

Players to watch for New Zealand

With the usual suspects of Tall Blacks late in finding their rhythm on offense, Taylor Britt took over, and finished with 21 points, six rebounds, and six assists against Iraq. Former NBA G League player and LA Lakers second-round pick Mojave King chipped in for the Tall Blacks was as good as advertised with 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field. Tohi Milner-Smith had 13 points and four rebounds for the Tall Blacks against Iraq, but don’t forget that the 6-foot-9 center/forward had 25 points on 5-of-10 shooting from three-point range. Jordan Ngatai only had three points against Iraq but the Kiwis team captain has a reputation and can light it up anytime.

Stay away from foul trouble

For Gilas to have a chance against New Zealand, their key players must stay on the floor. Justin Brownlee had 19 points and seven rebounds. However, he only played for 24 minutes after being saddled with two fouls early in the first quarter. Brownlee already had four fouls in the third quarter, leaving the Gilas naturalized player on the bench for most of that quarter. He later fouled out with still four minutes left in the game.

In total, Gilas had 26 fouls with Scottie Thompson, Dwight Ramos, and Chris Newsome each having four, and AJ Edu with three although he found a way to stay in the match after getting two early fouls in the first quarter.

The fouls led to Chinese Taipei making 27 points out of the 35 it attempted from the free throw line.

Watch out for New Zealand’s running game, three-point shooting

New Zealand comes into the tournament as one of the best three-point shooting teams in the FIBA Asia Cup after making 37 percent on 65-of-178 shooting from threes during the qualifiers, which was third-best among all the teams. The Kiwis launched 33 shots and made 13 during their win over the Filipinos during the last February window. Against Iraq, however, the Tall Blacks only went 9-of-34 from threes or 26 percent. But three-point shooting is part of New Zealand’s game so expect the Tall Blacks to continue hoisting up those outside shots.

New Zealand also had its running game going against Iraq that led to 33 fastbreak points, so it's crucial that Gilas controls the pace.

Lessen turnovers

Chinese Taipei was able to score 18 points off Gilas' 16 turnovers. Nearly half of the team’s errors came from Justin Brownlee (four), and June Mar Fajardo (three). Gilas must cut those errors down in order to have a shot at New Zealand.

Will KQ get more minutes?

The talk following Gilas’ loss to Chinese Taipei was the minutes, or lack thereof, of Kevin Quiambao. The former UAAP MVP didn’t see action in the first half, but exploded in the second half after being fielded by coach Tim Cone. KQ responded with 17 points in 16 minutes of play in the second half. Fans will definitely be watching how Quiambao will be used for the game against New Zealand.

2025-08-07T08:15:07Z