The Tall Blacks return to action tonight when they face host nation the Philippines, in their second FIBA World Cup Qualifier game in Manila.
This match-up is expected to be a tough battle for both teams, with the Philippines (33) ranked not far behind New Zealand (27) in the FIBA basketball rankings. And Gilas Pilipinas – as they’re known locally – will also have the advantage of playing on their home floor at Araneta Coliseum and in front of a raucous fanbase, with basketball ranked as the number one sport in the Philippines.
Like New Zealand, the Philippines come into this game sitting at 1-0 in the Group A standings following a win over India; with a decision yet to be made by FIBA on whether both teams will be allocated wins for their respective forfeited games against Korea – the latter deciding to not join the bubble due to Covid issues within their team.
Gilas Pilipinas opened their campaign with a 88-64 win over India on Friday night; point guard Dwight Ramos registering 17 points (on 6/9 shooting), 4 rebounds and 3 assists to lead the Filipinos. Fellow guard Thirdy Ravena added 15 points, while Roger Pogoy and Robert Bolick also finishing in double digits with 12 and 10 points, respectively.
One player to watch for The Philippines will be 24-year-old naturalized big man Angelo Kouame, who at 6’11’ is easily their tallest player. Kouame had a solid showing defensively against India, collecting a team-high 9 rebounds (5 offensive), 2 blocks and 2 steals along with 6 points on 33% shooting.
Although buoyed by their dominant showing against India – their 55-point margin of victory being its largest ever against India – the Tall Blacks know they’ll be facing a much tougher and more physical team in Gilas Pilipinas tonight.
The kiwi side makes one change to their roster ahead of this one; bringing in rookie Richie Rodger for the first time, in place of fellow point guard Jayden Bezzant.
As they did against India, the Tall Blacks will seek to exploit the outside shooting abilities of their squad. Rob Loe and Tom Vodanovich were excellent examples of this, the two bigs shooting a combined 5/11 from outside to help stretch the defence – while also grabbing half of the team’s 14 offensive rebounds on the night.
Ethan Rusbatch (18 points), Taylor Britt (11 points) and captain Dion Prewster (6 points) will again be counted on to provide a scoring punch, with rookie Taki Fahrensohn (9 points) also having impressed in his first game in the black singlet.
Prewster says that they’re expecting a tough fight against Gilas Pilipinas tonight, in what will be the Tall Black’s first game against the Philippines – in their home country – since 2016.
“These are the kind of games that you want to get to play; it’s not often that you get to play in a country where basketball is so highly regarded and supported,” says Prewster.
“So that only adds to the atmosphere and we know this Philippines team is going to come out and give their best effort in front of their fans.”
The Tall Blacks face the Philippines in their second of three games in the FIBA World Cup Qualifiers game in Manila, Philippines. Tip-off is at 7pm Manila time (12am NZT) at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Catch the Tall Blacks in action live on Spark Sport.
Tall Blacks Squad vs Philippines
- #2, Taane Samuel, Power Forward
- #5, Taylor Britt, Point Guard
- #8, Tai Wynyard, Centre
- #10, Richie Rodger, Point Guard
- #11, Joe Cook-Green, Point Guard
- #12, Ben Gold, Power Forward
- #13, Dion Prewster, Shooting Guard (Captain)
- #14, Rob Loe, Centre
- #15, Tom Vodanovich, Power Forward
- #20, Taki Fahrensohn, Small Forward
- #22, Hyrum Harris, Small Forward
- #25, Ethan Rusbatch, Shooting Guard
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