TASKED by Gilas Pilipinas coach Tim Cone to make the inbound pass from the baseline, guard Scottie Thompson locked eyes with teammate Chris Newsome last night.
With the clock ticking away, Thompson’s vision was initially covered by New Zealand’s defense, but he found a way—and for the first time in a FIBA tilt, the Philippine five played taller and bigger than the Tall Blacks.
Showing more zeal and grit, Gilas held off New Zealand 93-89 for its third straight win in the second window of the FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.
Prized center Kai Sotto seemingly showed up to receive the pass from Thompson, but the ball zoomed to the hands of Newsome who did not hesitate to launch a three-point that he swished, giving the Philippine five a 91-84 cushion with 1:10 to go.
The crowd of 16,666 fans, mostly blue-clad Filipino supporters, went into a frenzy before Cone’s charges held their ground the rest of the way to finally notch a victory over the New Zealanders.
“It was a tough one. They’re good. They’re really good. They are incredibly physical. I think that was the number one thing we have to battle through. Credit to Kai and June Mar (Fajardo), battling through their bigs. They are big and are really physical with us,” Cone said. “Of course, Justin, they were physical with Justin. We rotated two, almost three guys, so to overcome that and find a way to win was really special.
“Again, special because for our home court, our home crowd, and the people watching. I mean I had so much good luck tonight. There was a lot of attention on the game and our guys were pressured to win and they found a way. Proud of them,” he added.
Naturalized star Justin Brownlee banged in game-highs of 26 points and 11 rebounds, to go with four assists for Gilas while prized center Kai Sotto turned heads with 19 markers, 10 boards, and seven dimes.
Thompson, Newsome, and Dwight Ramos also had 12, 11, and 11 points, respectively as the Filipino dribblers rose to 3-0 in Group B.
Gilas will try to make it four in row when it takes on Hong Kong on Sunday, Nov. 24, at the same venue.
Former NBA player Corey Webster paced the Tall Blacks with 25 points while Thomas Vodanovich, a former import for Converge in the PBA, added 19 markers.
Sam Waardenburg also got 19 points for the visiting side. – With Abby Toralba
