Gilas Pilipinas believed, and thus, achieved their goal of beating New Zealand for the very first time in FIBA play on Thursday, Nov. 22.
Gilas Pilipinas made history anew as it beat New Zealand for the first-time, 93-89, in the second window of the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay on Thursday, Nov. 21.
Drawing a huge near triple-double performance from Kai Sotto, who churned out 19 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, the Nationals were able to break the Tall Blacks curse.
New Zealand was a riddle the Philippines could not solve in the past as it won all of their previous four duels in the FIBA stage since 2016.
Relive all the feels brought by Gilas' impressive breakthrough as you browse through the photos taken by One Sports lensman RM Chua.
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The New Zealand Tall Blacks perform the haka in front of the Gilas Pilipinas squad before their FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers match.
Justin Brownlee tries to break free from New Zealand's pesky defense.
Scottie Thompson catches fire in the second quarter, allowing Gilas Pilipinas to turn the match into a tight contest.
Dwight Ramos collects 11 points anchored on two triples with six rebounds and four assists to boot.
Kai Sotto produces 19 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists in a sizzling outing for Gilas.
Gilas Pilipinas takes advantage of the home support as a 16,666-strong crowd troop to the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.
Chris Newsome is awesome with his dagger three-pointer at the 1:09 mark of the fourth period for a 91-84 Gilas lead.
Justin Brownlee stands tall against the New Zealand Tall Blacks.
Calvin Oftana and the rest of Gilas Pilipinas are filled with glee following their huge win over New Zealand, which is 12 rungs higher in the world ranking at 22.
Head coach Tim Cone makes another entry in the history books with the Nationals in their first-ever win against New Zealand.