After breezing through Hong Kong and Chinese Taipei back in February in Group B action of the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Qualifier, Gilas Pilipinas will face its first acid test in New Zealand—a team the nationals have yet to beat in four tries dating back to 2016.
In fact, the last time the two squads squared off, the Tall Blacks came away with a rather convincing 92-75 win in Jakarta, Indonesia in 2022 against a Chot Reyes-mentored Gilas bannered by Kiefer Ravena and Bobby Ray Parks Jr.
Meanwhile, the last time New Zealand played Gilas here in the Philippines was in the first round of the World Cup 2023 Asia Qualifier. The result was even worse as the Tall Blacks waylaid the home team, 88-63, behind veterans Dion Prewster and former PBA import Thomas Vodanovich, who each fired 20 in the win.
Given the Tall Blacks’ run of dominance, it is fair to wonder if Gilas has what it takes to beat their repeat tormentors, who will again be bringing in the big guns as they look to wrap up Group B with a sweep in the second window of FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Qualifier.
Tall Blacks Bringing the A Team
With the team New Zealand is bringing to the Mall of Asia (MOA) Arena on Thursday, November 21, beating the Tall Blacks would definitely be a tall order—no pun intended.
Veteran Corey Webster, a three-time NBL champion and former NBA player, will once again banner New Zealand and bring his explosive scoring to MOA Arena. The 6-foot-2 guard averaged 22.8 points and 5.6 assists as the Tall Blacks’ main man in the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup and 13.5 points and 2.0 assists in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Greece held earlier this year.
Vodanovich, who should be familiar with the Filipino hoops scene after his stint as an import for the Converge FiberXers in the 2023–24 PBA Commissioner’s Cup, will be back for the Tall Blacks, who will also be leaning on a relatively younger squad in this window.
A potential problem for Gilas could be the twin tower combo of Tyrell Harrison (7-0) and Sam Mennenga (6-10), who give the Tall Blacks a talented pair of difference-makers in the paint to complement Webster’s explosive scoring. Both, incidentally, were also part of the New Zealand team that stunned European powerhouse Croatia in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Greece.
Tim Cone Is Unfazed
Beating a higher-ranked team like the Tall Blacks may be a tall order for Gilas, but head coach Tim Cone is unperturbed—and so are the players, apparently.
“I think there’s a certain confidence on the players that they have. And it’s deserving,” said Cone. “For the Gilas players, just believe. I think if we come in with the idea that just believe that we can do it, I think we will do it. That’ll be on all of us.”
That confidence should come as no surprise, especially with a core group—Justin Brownlee, Calvin Oftana, June Mar Fajardo, Chris Newsome, CJay Perez, and Scottie Thompson—that has been playing together since last year’s Asian Games conquest.
This Cone-guided Gilas iteration is also no stranger to beating teams ranked higher than the Philippines in the FIBA World Ranking, starting with Iran (28) and China (30) in the Asian Games and Latvia (9) in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Riga. It also pushed 24th-ranked Georgia to the hilt and went toe-to-toe with 12th-ranked Brazil for three quarters in the same tournament.
Gilas also has arguably one of its tallest, most talented lineups in recent history, with Kai Sotto (7-3) joining Fajardo (6-10), Brownlee (6-5), and maybe even AJ Edu (6-11) at the frontcourt. Thompson and Newsome, both at 6-foot-2, could then form a defense-oriented but equally explosive guard rotation alongside Dwight Ramos (6-4) to counter New Zealand’s Webster-powered backcourt.
So, yes, New Zealand may have had Gilas’ number in the past and is ranked much higher (22), but that tall order of beating the Tall Blacks might not be too tall after all.
