MANILA — Gilas Pilipinas squandered a chance to tighten its grip in the 2027 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers after absorbing a gut-wrenching 69–66 defeat to the New Zealand Tall Blacks, with naturalized star Justin Brownlee shackled to one of his quietest outings in recent memory Thursday night at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
In a game that went down to the final possession, Dwight Ramos’ potential game-tying three-pointer misfired in the closing seconds, allowing the Tall Blacks to slip away with their first victory in three matches and hand Gilas a costly setback in the second window of the qualifiers.
Brownlee, the usual stabilizing force for the national squad, struggled to find his offensive rhythm and finished with just four points on a dismal 2-of-10 shooting from the field. The Barangay Ginebra San Miguel resident import added six rebounds, two assists, one steal, and one block, but his uncharacteristic scoring drought left Gilas searching for firepower in crunch time.
Despite Brownlee’s struggles, the Filipinos stayed within striking distance throughout and nearly forced overtime. Trailing by three in the dying seconds, Ramos launched a deep triple that rimmed out, sealing the narrow loss before a stunned home crowd.
Max Darling paced the Tall Blacks with 11 points, while Sam Mennenga and Alex McNaught contributed 10 points each as New Zealand leaned on balanced scoring and timely defense to secure the win.
Gilas appeared poised for a strong outing early, racing to a 14–7 lead behind 10 quick points from Jaymar Perez. However, New Zealand countered with outside shooting from Darling to grab a 25–21 edge at the end of the first quarter.
The Tall Blacks stretched the gap to double digits in the second period, but Gilas mounted a determined fightback, closing the half on a strong note to knot the score at 37–all.
The Filipinos briefly regained control at 41–37 early in the third quarter, only for New Zealand to reassert itself behind disciplined defense and steady perimeter hits to rebuild a double-digit cushion.
Still, Gilas refused to fold.
A late fourth-quarter surge sparked by Quentin Millora-Brown, AJ Edu, and Ramos sliced the deficit to 68–66, setting up a dramatic finish. But the Tall Blacks held their composure at the line and on defense to preserve the slim advantage.
Ramos topscored for Gilas with 16 points, Perez added 15, while Juan Gomez de Liaño marked his return to the national team with 10 points as the Filipinos slipped to a 2–1 record in the qualifiers.
With the loss, Gilas Pilipinas now faces added pressure in its next assignments as it seeks to regain momentum in the long road toward the 2027 FIBA World Cup./PN
