Gilas Pilipinas end the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers with back-to-back losses, dropping the rematch to New Zealand on the road.
No bearing in terms of the main purpose of all three windows, but New Zealand arguably needed to issue a definitive response to Gilas Pilipinas after last year’s loss.
They did.
The Tall Blacks were relentless in the rematch against the Philippines, starting strong and finishing strong for an 87-70 win Sunday to close the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers at the Spark Arena in New Zealand.
Gilas scored a breakthrough win over New Zealand last November, but the Tall Blacks were quick in their response to restore a 5-1 lead in their head-to-head matchups.
Tohi Smith-Milner led the Tall Blacks with 25 points, with eight rebounds and two assists.
For Gilas, Chris Newsome scored 13 points, with June Mar Fajardo and Justin Brownlee adding 11 and 10 points, respectively. Gilas Pilipinas ended these Asia Cup Qualifiers with back-to-back losses for a 4-2 record.