Gilas Pilipinas in the national anthem before his match during the qualifications of the Asia Cup of the FIBA 2025 against Chinese Taipei. –Fiba photo
Gilas Pilipinas rushed to what was initially a non -promising game whose only value was to allow nationals a kind of boasting rights and serving a development before the flagship event of the Fiba Asia Cup in Saudi Arabia in Saudi Arabia Six months.
But the return match against New Zealand this Sunday in Auckland has become a confrontation with high issues while the two nations break their equality 4-1 for the head of group B, which also awards the winner a favorable draw in the Continental competition in Jeddah this August.
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The Philippins missed Cornerstone Kai Sotto during the shock loss 91-84 against the Chinese taipei at the Taipei Heping stadium, while Gilas had trouble finding another reliable source of production outside the naturalized AS Justin Brownlee and a Another young pillar in Dwight Ramos.
Brownlee collected 39 points, six rebounds and eight assists, while Ramos collected 15 points and five rebounds. AJ Edu delivered 10 points in his first match from a knee problem, but the overabundance of these buckets came a little too late for the Philippines, who had to get out of a 13 -point rut before returning Competitive things in crunch.
A revealing absence
Scottie Thompson, who was sensational against New Zealand in November, finished with only four points after spending 1 for 8 on the field. CJ Perez and Calvin Oftana, two markers in good faith from the PBA, pulled whites in the loss. Carl Tamayo – was one of the great contributors to this window for his recent prolific outing in South Korea – was just as forgettable.
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The 7-foot 3-inch sotto was easily one of the reasons why Gilas was massively the most effective team in the tournament before Thursday’s match, because his defense order opens up opportunities to score not only for himself But also for his teammates.
And his absence was revealing, something that the big blacks will try to exploit when the two sides will come back on Sunday morning (Manila time) to Spark Arena.
The hosts, restricted and perhaps much more avenging than the Chinese, are whipping at 41 points from Hong Kong, with their defense as their most important weapon.
“Looking at the statistics, we were able to force 24 reversals, I think, and we really capitalize on this subject. And basically, this is where the game was won for us, “said New Zealand coach Judd Flavell. “We are going to take our learning with us for the match against the Philippines in a few days.
“We have a lot to build. This is my second campaign with the group. We have half a team that goes here from November, and the others are new in the system. So we knew that we were perhaps being awkward in a few places. But we really want to make sure that in the end, our defense was doing the job. »»
Took the blame
National coach Tim Cone criticized the Chinese defeat, saying that he could have brought his charges better for the match.
“We knew that they were going to be improved a lot compared to the last time we played them, but they were even better than we thought. It’s on me. Without a doubt, I should have prepares us better, ”he wrote on X.
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“There is obviously a lot that I would have done differently in this game if we give another chance, but it is not possible now. The only thing we can do at this stage is to move on. I will be better. We will be better, ”he added.
