Gilas Pilipinas struggled offensively in an 88-63 defeat to New Zealand in the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers, Sunday at the Araneta Coliseum.
The Filipinos shot just 35.8 percent from the field, including only 5-of-25 from beyond the arc, and missed 13 of 23 free throw attempts in a subpar performance in front of a sizable crowd at the Big Dome.
Japan-based professionals Thirdy Ravena and Dwight Ramos were among the few bright spots in the game, as they had 23 and 18 points, respectively. Ramos also had 10 points, and Ravena contributed five boards and five dimes in the defeat.
But Robert Bolick was the only other Gilas player in double-digits with 10 points, as the rest of the team were unable to find any rhythm throughout the game. The Philippines struggled mightily against the taller New Zealand squad, and were out-rebounded 54-34.
"I was very proud of the effort of our guys," said Gilas Pilipinas coach Chot Reyes. "We played a tough team, and we didn't back down. We kept ourselves in the ball game until I think, late in the third quarter."
"But I couldn't ask for anything more from our players. I thought they came in and they executed," he added.
For New Zealand, Tom Vodanovich netted 20 points on 6-of-9 shooting while also grabbing 10 rebounds. Rob Loe (15 points, 10 boards) finished with a double-double, and former La Salle big man Taane Samuel made all five of his field goal attempts for 12 points.
As a team, the Tall Blacks converted 46.2 percent of their shots.
Despite the difference in size, Gilas was within striking distance, 22-19, after the opening frame and trailed by a manageable 10 points, 40-30, at the break.
A triple by Ravena to open the third quarter hyped up the Big Dome crowd, but New Zealand would soon pull away. Dion Prewster waxed hot, shrugging the Philippines' post defense to score inside points. The Tall Blacks' lead ballooned to 22 points, 65-43, off a Takiula Fahrensohn triple with a little over a minute left in the third quarter.
Gilas briefly made a comeback in the fourth thanks to Bolick, who scored five straight points to trim the deficit to 16 points, 69-53, with under eight minutes left. But Samuel scored back-to-back field goals, pushing the lead to 73-56, and the Philippines would be unable to threaten from there.
"We had some lapses on defense," admitted Ravena. "They had around 16 second chance points and 14 fastbreak points, and those could have been prevented if we had probably communicated a little bit more or gave a little bit more effort."
"It's a learning lesson for us," he added.
The Philippines dropped to 1-1, failing to build on a victory against India last Friday. The fourth team in Group A, South Korea, has been disqualified from the tournament after forfeiting their first two games.
New Zealand will wrap up the February window on Monday with a second game against India.
