AUCKLAND (New Zealand) - New Zealand simply had more in the end to withstand the Philippines in a double overtime classic, 106-102, in their FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 Asian Qualifiers rematch, Friday.
Nailbiter
Amid a pro-Gilas crowd that filled the Spark Arena here, the Tall Blacks reminded the visitors about whose turf it was with a gutsy performance to pull off the victory after being down by four with 2:52 remaining.
"A game like that ... the game could have gone either way," said head coach Judd Flavell. "We got an experienced group. And probably, the experience and composure are what got the job done down the stretch."
Both teams already without some of their stars late due to foul trouble, heroes were aplenty for the home team, with Sam Mennenga coming through with the go-ahead bucket to put them ahead for good, 104-102.
And that proved to be the beginning of the end for their Filipino counterparts, as main winger Justin Brownlee and guard Juan Gomez de Liano headed to the bench one after the other after fouling out of the match.
As a result, Jordan Ngatai and Shea Ili went on to split their shots in separate trips to the free throw line inside the game's final 10.6 seconds, all but sealing the deal for the perennial contenders from Oceania.
By escaping the Philippines yet again, New Zealand (3-2) have formally punched their ticket to the Second Round, joining their budding rivals and the 4-0 Australia while eliminating the winless Guam from contention.
"Really big win for us," said Flavell. "We came here with the objective to obviously get the win. We knew the Philippines was gonna be a tough opponent - they always have been. Very proud of our resilience."
Streak extended
The victory adds on to the win streak accumulated by the Tall Blacks over Gilas, now at 4 consecutive and undefeated in the World Cup Qualifiers.
Head-to-Head: Philippines vs New Zealand |
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|---|---|---|---|
Result | Winner | Competition | Date |
NZL 106-102 PHI (2OT) | NZL | World Cup 2027 Asian Qualifiers | July 3, 2026 |
PHI 66-69 NZL | NZL | World Cup 2027 Asian Qualifiers | February 26, 2026 |
PHI 86-94 NZL | NZL | Asia Cup 2025 | August 7, 2025 |
NZL 87-70 PHI | NZL | Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers | February 23, 2025 |
PHI 93-89 NZL | PHI | Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers | November 21, 2024 |
PHI 75-92 NZL | NZL | Asia Cup 2022 | July 17, 2022 |
PHI 60-106 NZL | NZL | World Cup 2023 Asian Qualifiers | June 30, 2022 |
NZL 88-63 PHI | NZL | World Cup 2023 Asian Qualifiers | February 27, 2022 |
PHI 80-89 NZL | NZL | OQT 2016 | July 6, 2016 |
Reuben Te Rangi top-scored for New Zealand with 22 points. Ili finished with 21 points and 6 assists for a triumphant first game back with the men's team since the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers.
Another comebacking big in Sam Waardenburg made his presence felt also with 16 points and 10 rebounds, alongside a pair of steals. His frontcourt partner Mennenga tallied 13 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists.
Tai Webster, back with NZL after seven years or since the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 in China, supplied 12 points off the bench although his night ended prematurely after fouling out late in the first OT period.
Webster was supposed to be the hero for his side when his back-to-back hits from point-blank range gave themselves the 81-79 lead late in the fourth, only for Gomez de Liano to spoil his contributions.
The lefty guard nailed a triple by taking advantage of the defense opening up to make it an 83-all count and force extra time - a shot he would go on to replicate later in the night to extend the match to another period.
Gomez de Liano himself would also spark the mini 7-0 run for the 100-96 lead with less than three minutes to go but that proved to be their last hurrah as Te Rangi and the rest trekked the comeback trail and succeeded.
We clawed our way back.
The seasoned two-guard went perfect from the charity stripe and ditto with spark plug Carlin Davison not long after, before Mennenga slammed it home to take the 102-100 lead with only 52.2 seconds to spare.
Kevin Quiambao tied it up with a one-hander but momentum had already shifted New Zealand's favor - the latter finished the game with a 10-2 run in a solid display of poise to once again torment the Philippines.
"I thought us players retained a lot of the information we got from the coaches over the last three days," Te Rangi said. "I thought we executed well ... we came out and stuck with our plan and came out with the win."
Quiambao and Gomez de Liano led Gilas with a game-high 23 points apiece in the defeat, which is already their third in a row although that hardly matters as they're already assured of a spot in the Second Round.
Dwight Ramos made 18 points, including the trifecta that pushed their lead to 77-70 with less than five minutes remaining in regulation - a lead they could've protected only for New Zealand to melt it down.
Carl Tamayo delivered 17 points as Coach Tim Cone leaned much on his youngsters this time around, leading to solid performances which made up for Brownlee being shut down by the opposing defense anew.
Brownlee only had 5 points but had 8 rebounds and 4 assists, and even knocked down a triple that gave them the aforementioned four-point lead. But he committed a costly foul, which helped their foes regain control.
"It would've been nice to be able to come down here and steal a game. That would've been special," lamented Cone. "The fact that we got as close as we did, obviously it's a huge disappointment."
"Bottomline was, our guys came to play. They expended an incredible amount of energy just staying in the game," he added as the match saw 14 lead changes and 12 deadlocks. "But we just couldn't hold it."
FIBA