The Tall Blacks have remained undefeated in the FIBA Basketball World Cup Qualifiers in Manila, thanks to a gutsy 88-63 win last night over Gilas Pilipinas in front of a raucous Philippines home crowd.
The victory came thanks to the kiwi veterans with double-doubles from Tom Vodanovich and Rob Loe, along with another all-around performance from captain Dion Prewster and 10 points from Ethan Rusbatch. The Tall Blacks also received some solid help from the bench in the form of Taane Samuel; his 12 points coming on a perfect 5/5 shooting night.
After a physical first quarter in which New Zealand held a narrow lead at 22-19, the Tall Blacks held the Philippines to three made field goals in the second quarter to stretch their lead out to 40-30 at half-time; the first half marred by fouls from both sides, with a combined 25 fouls called.
The Tall Blacks came alive in the third, thanks to Prewster’s 9 points in the quarter and improved shooting from the squad as the Kiwis took a 65-48 lead heading into the final frame.
Things broke open in the fourth, with New Zealand running away with the 25-point win. Gilas Pilipinas were left ruing their chances after being held to just 36% shooting on the night – including an abysmal 10-of-23 from the charity stripe. The Kiwis also out-rebounded Gilas 54-34 on the night, with their 13 offensive rebounds helping the Tall Blacks to register 16 second-chance points.
In the post-game conference, Tall Blacks head coach Pero Cameron says that it is “always big” to play the home team in their country.
The sport is always big here in the Philippines, it was a very good turnout, the crowd tonight, which we loved to see and hopefully, things are getting back to normal. It always brings a different dynamic to the game,” says Cameron.
“I felt that both teams were in it and I’m glad about the way our team finished the game.”
Cameron says that the squad has adjusted and he expects them to be better today when they face India in the re-match.
“We’ve got a quick turnaround, we need to look at some of the things that we need to adjust, be better on, and always look at them as a team and look at what they like to do, what coach likes to do for them and create some things, stop some things.
“We’re excited to be playing. Like everybody, it’s always tough playing on the second day [of a back-to-back].”
The Tall Blacks now face a short turnaround before their next game, with a re-match against India scheduled for Monday 28 February as their final game of these qualifiers.
Stats:
New Zealand 88 – Vodanovich 20, Prewster 20, Loe 15, Samuel 12, Rusbatch 10, Harris 5, Fahrensohn 4, Gold 0, Cook-Green 0, Rodger 0.
Philippines 63 – Ravena 23, Ramos 18, Bolick 10, Kouame 5, Pogoy 4, Rosario 2, Williams 1, Erram 0, Montalbo 0, De Liano 0, Navarro 0, Tungcab 0.
Quarterscores: 22-19, 40-30, 65-48, 88-63.
Key Stats:
