By Ivan Stewart Saldajeno
MANILA – A gallant endgame from Gilas Pilipinas fell short as New Zealand escaped with a 69-66 win in the FIBA World Cup Qualifiers on Thursday night at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
Dwight Ramos’ final hurrah was not enough as the Tall Blacks needed an escape, even if they did a great job holding down Justin Brownlee.
Down 57-66, Gilas went on a 7-0 run that cut the deficit down to two, 64-66, with 47 seconds remaining.
The Filipinos came close to a crucial stop when they forced New Zealand to a contested three from Sam Mennenga that he missed.
However, the Tall Blacks secured crucial offensive rebounds, leading to a Yanni Wetzell putback with 13.8 seconds left for a 68-64 count.
Ramos then scored a putback layup off a Calvin Oftana miss to cut the gap back to two with 8.1 seconds left, and Reuben Te Rangi kept the door open for Gilas when he split his charities.
Ramos tried to force overtime, but his long triple from beyond the PBA’s four-point range rimmed out as time expired.
Max Darling led the Tall Blacks, who finally won a game in the qualifying phase after a 0-2 first window against Australia, with 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting.
Mennenga and Alex McNaught each scored 10 points, with Mennenga adding 14 rebounds.
Ramos ended up with 16 points, eight rebounds, one assist, two steals, and one block for Gilas in a game where Brownlee was held to only four points on 2-for-10 shooting. (PNA)
