By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
It was three months ago when the New Zealand national basketball team suffered its most deflating loss to Gilas Pilipinas.
After eight dark years of being in New Zealand’s shadow, Gilas finally broke their dry spell on November 21, 2024, when they pulled off a major stunner during the first window of the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers.
However, Gilas didn’t know it became a huge motivating factor for New Zealand that drew a huge driving power the moment they knew a rematch was incoming in the second window of the tournament.
Inspired, frustrated, and eager to get back, New Zealand quickly went to business during their second meeting and handed Gilas a lopsided revenge win, 87-70, on February 23, 2025, at Spark Arena in Auckland, New Zealand.
Unlike their first matchup where New Zealand started slow after misfiring from the three-point range, the home team this time made sure no sloppy opening quarter performance would doom them as they dominated the Filipinos after the first 10 minutes of action, 30-15.
New Zealand banked on that momentum-boosting first frame to suck the life out of the Filipinos, preventing them from any counter-offensive runs that helped them control the tempo and pace of the rematch.
The Tall Blacks torched Gilas from downtown, knocking down a total of 13 three-pointers built from 39.4% shooting.
During New Zealand’s early offensive rampage, the Tall Blacks drained six treys and sparked their desirable start against the Tim Cone-mentored squad.
They led by as much as 28 points but Gilas showed fight when the fourth quarter clock ticked, trimming their deficit to just 11 points, 77-66, in the remaining 6:37 of the game.
Just when Gilas thought they could pull off any lengthy scoring runs like they did against Chinese Taipei, New Zealand proved that they are a different breed as they iced the game with a 10-4 closing run that ballooned their lead back to a safe 16-point advantage.
New Zealand also did a good job containing Gilas’ money man, Justin Brownlee, who was only held to just 10 points. The Tall Blacks emphasized on putting soft double teams when he got deep in the post and deployed a special rotation of different defenders that got him out of his usual rhythm.
Tohi Smith-Milner led New Zealand with a game-high 25-point outing alongside nine rebounds, three steals, and two assists.
“The Tall Blacks came out and just smashed us early and just gave us a smash mouth in the first quarter. We just never really recovered,” said coach Cone following Gilas’ loss.
