THE Gilas Pilipinas national men’s basketball team is not yet out of contention.
Team Philippines still has a chance to make it to the playoffs after they got stunned by the New Zealand Tall Blacks’ outside shooting and Jordan Ngatai’s 22 points and an 86-94 setback that followed on Thursday evening (Manila time).
The Tall Blacks, who weathered Justin Brownlee’s 37 points, moved to a 2-0 win-loss record and grabbed a share of the lead with Chinese Taipei in Group D of the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 at King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
This assured the Tall Blacks a seat in the quarterfinals, while Gilas’ second straight setback will mean that they have to beat another winless squad, Iraq in their bracket.
Doing so on Saturday will allow Gilas to earn a playoff slot and a chance to fight it out for a quarterfinals berth.
“So, we’re disappointed. But the tournament is not yet over for us,” said Cone.
Cone said they never expected the Tall Blacks to be this good.
Many Filipino fans based in the Middle East came and watched as Gilas went down the standings in their bracket despite Brownlee’s heroic showing.
“We have a big game coming against Iraq. We’ll see if we get onto the next round,” added Cone.
Taylor Britt added 19 points and 7 assists to the Tall Blacks.
Chinese Taipei rode on a third-quarter explosion from Lin Ting-Chien, who finished with 22 points, in overpowering Iraq, 87-60.
Cone said Gilas struggled in the first half, with the Kiwis shooting well from the outside.
“I don’t think we all saw that coming. We’re disappointed,” added Cone.
Brownlee’s big effort included seven triples and a barrage of second-half buckets that brought Gilas back from a 41-55 halftime deficit.
The Tall Blacks got into the groove behind Ngatai’s hot shooting and Flynn Cameron’s penetrations as they moved in front with a 23-14 lead.
The Tall Blacks, who hit 9 triples in the first half, went on to take a 14-point edge edge at the end of the first half.
Brownlee and Dwight Ramos took charge and managed to bring Gilas’ deficit down to four late in the period.
But Britt’s buzzer-beating layup gave New Zealand a 74-68 cushion heading into the fourth.
The combo of Brownlee and Ramos allowed Gilas to come within three, 85-82.
But, Ngatai’s fifth triple, and Britt’s back-to-back layups allowed them restore control for the Tall Blacks.
