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Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Basketball devider Late Gilas rally falls short vs Tall Blacks

Late Gilas rally falls short vs Tall Blacks

Published Feb 26, 2026 09:06 pm

At A Glance

  • Gilas Pilipinas fed on the roaring home crowd to fuel a late run but still came up short against New Zealand, 69-66, to absorb its first taste of defeat in the 2027 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers at the Mall of Asia Arena on Thursday, Feb. 26.
Gilas Pilipinas fed on the roaring home crowd to fuel a late run but still came up short against New Zealand, 69-66, to absorb its first taste of defeat in the 2027 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers at the Mall of Asia Arena on Thursday, Feb. 26.
The Nationals dug themselves a huge hole after a lackluster third quarter but CJ Perez, AJ Edu and Dwight Ramos injected life to Gilas' flickering hopes in the final frame.
Trailing by as many as 11 in the fourth quarter, the Nationals rallied back and came within two, 66-68, after a booming Ramos triple with 8.1 seconds left.
The Tall Blacks, however, just proved to be the steadier team in the endgame, keeping Gilas at bay behind timely hits from Yanni Wetzell and Reuben Te Rangi.
The Filipinos still had the final shot at the buzzer but Ramos rattled out a desperate trey from near halfcourt which could have sent the game to an extra period.
Ramos paced Gilas with 16 points and eight rebounds while Perez, who came out hot with 10 first quarter points, finished with 15.
Juan Gomez de Liano also made a good account of himself in his Gilas return, chipping 10 points off the bench. Edu manned the paint well in Kai Sotto’s absence with five points and 11 rebounds while Quentin Millora-Brown chipped in seven points and eight rebounds.
Curiously not on his usual self was Justin Brownlee who only had four points on a poor 2-of-10 shooting, to go with six rebounds in over 30 minutes of play.
His offensive struggle was even more magnified during the third quarter when the Nationals could buy a basket and was only held to a measly nine points.
Max Darling led New Zealand with 11 points while Sam Mennenga and Alex Mcnaught with 10 apiece.
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