GILAS Pilipinas will be battling a New Zealand side that’s practically bringing the same core when they collide on July 3 for the third window of the FIBA World Cup 2027 Asian Qualifiers in Auckland.
Tall Blacks head coach Judd Flavell specifically named eight holdovers from his team, which scored a 69-66 win over the Philippines last February.
Returning for the New Zealand team are Sam Mennenga, Carlin Davison, Taylor Britt, Taine Murray, Jordan Ngatai, Reuben Te Rangi, Tohi Smith-Milner and Sam Timmins.
Flavell explained that the decision to bring back nearly the same roster from last February’s duel was borne out of their desire for continuity.
“It’s great to have the continuity. It’s always been an important piece for any Tall Black team,” Flavell said, in an article posted at the National Basketball League (NBL) website.
“Part of the reason these camps and windows are so important are because you get to work on that. But you also get to work your pieces in and see where this team could look further down the road. There’s some great depth there across the board.”
The Filipinos fought back from an 11-point deficit in the fourth quarter, and even had a chance to force overtime against the Tall Blacks last February.
But Dwight Ramos’ last-second heave missed the mark, allowing New Zealand to escape with the first of what would be back-to-back road wins as the Tall Blacks would go on to beat Guam a few days after.
Completing New Zealand’s roster for the July window are veterans Shea Ili and Tai Webster along with young big man Sam Waardenburg.
Gilas deals with its own front court concerns with Kai Sotto unavailable as he resumes his NBA pursuit while Quentin Millora-Brown is still recovering from back surgery.
Mike Phillips, who’ll be playing as a local for Gilas Pilipinas for the first time, and Converge big man Justine Baltazar were named to the final roster in lieu of Sotto and Millora-Brown.
Do-it-all guard Scottie Thompson, one of four Barangay Ginebra players named to the Gilas final 12, is also out as he recovers from a nagging hamstring injury.
His spot will be taken by Juan Gomez de Liaño.
The Philippine men’s basketball team is currently in New Zealand for its training camp, and will shortly play two friendly games, before plunging into action on July 3 against the Tall Blacks.
“We really look at guys and bring them in for a purpose. We don’t just look at the talent and say, ‘he’s the most talented player there so therefore, we gonna get him.’ We try to make them come in and fit the puzzle on the vision we have for the team,” Cone said on Monday during the media day and send off at the FilOil Eco Oil Flying V Arena in San Juan.
Gilas Pilipinas naturalized player Justin Brownlee expects New Zealand to come out aggressive from the get go as it protects its home floor.
“We know they’re a physical team, so we just try to match that, understand and play through and just be aggressive,” he said.
