Gilas Pilipinas suffered its second straight loss in the FIBA Asia Cup 2025, falling to the New Zealand Tall Blacks, 94-86, on Thursday evening in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
An impressive outside shooting fueled the Kiwis, led by Jordan Ngatai’s 22 points, which overshadowed a heroic 37-point effort from Gilas star Justin Brownlee.
With the victory, the Tall Blacks improved to a 2-0 record and now share the top spot in Group D with Chinese Taipei. Gilas, meanwhile, dropped to 0-2.
Coach Tim Cone expressed his disappointment after the game. “We’re disappointed that we didn’t get it. We lost two in a row,” he said.
He added that the team didn’t anticipate how strong the Tall Blacks’ performance would be. “I don’t think we all saw that coming. We’re disappointed.”
Brownlee led a valiant comeback effort, scoring seven three-pointers and hitting a barrage of second-half shots to cut New Zealand’s 41-55 halftime lead.
However, the Tall Blacks’ hot shooting, which included nine triples in the first half, kept them ahead. Taylor Britt added 19 points and seven assists for New Zealand.
The Philippines managed to cut the deficit to just three points late in the fourth quarter, but Ngatai’s fifth three-pointer and a pair of layups from Britt sealed the victory for the Tall Blacks.
Gilas Pilipinas now faces a must-win game against Iraq to keep its quarterfinal hopes alive. New Zealand will go on to play Chinese Taipei.
