MANILA – Justin Brownlee’s heroic performance went down the drain as Gilas Pilipinas suffered a 94-86 defeat to New Zealand Tall Blacks in the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup on Thursday night (early Friday morning in Manila) at the King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Brownlee, who erupted for 37 points — including 7-of-12 shooting from beyond the arc — did everything he could to carry Gilas, but his all-out effort was not enough to prevent them from falling to 0-2 in the group stage.
The 37-year-old forward also tallied five rebounds, three assists, and a steal in 36 grueling minutes on the floor, often shouldering the scoring load and bailing Gilas out in key possessions.
But with the team plagued by costly turnovers and defensive lapses in the final stretch—most notably a late passing error by Dwight Ramos with just over two minutes left—Brownlee’s heroics ultimately fell short.
Ramos himself made his presence felt offensively with 19 markers, while June Mar Fajardo dominates inside in the second half to tally 11 markers for the Philippine team.
Down by as many as 18 points in the opening half, Gilas Pilipinas banked on inside hits by Fajardo and Ramos and outside conversions by Brownlee to cut the deficit to 82-85.
The Tall Blacks, however, responded with a basket from Taylor Britt to make it an 87-82 score before Ramos committed a costly passing turnover to Brownlee with over two minutes left.
The turnover shifted the momentum decisively in New Zealand’s favor, as the Tall Blacks capitalized with consecutive baskets from Britt, Tohi Smith-Milner, and Mojave King to build a 92-82 lead with just 12 seconds left.
Jordan Ngatai top-scored for the Tall Blacks with 22 points, Britt added 19 markers, while Flynn Cameron and King had 12 and 11, respectively, as they improved to a 2-0 record.
Gilas Pilipinas’ defeat puts them in a must-win situation against Iraq this afternoon to stay in contention for the final playoff spot in Group D./PN
