Sports

Gilas Pilipinas Suffers Heartbreaking 69-66 Loss to New Zealand at MoA Arena — First Defeat in FIBA World Cup Qualifiers

Tabloid PH Newsdesk

Feb 28, 2026 — 1 min read

Photo: Spin.ph

Gilas Pilipinas' unbeaten run in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 Asian Qualifiers is over. The Philippine men's national basketball team fell to New Zealand 69-66 on Thursday night at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City — their first loss in the qualifying campaign after four straight wins against Guam.

The Tall Blacks controlled the game for most of the night, but Gilas mounted a fierce comeback in the second half. Dwight Ramos led the Philippines with 16 points, while CJ Perez added 15 and Juan Gomez de Liaño chipped in 10. Despite the rally, it wasn't enough to overcome New Zealand's balanced attack led by Darling (11 points), Mennenga (10), and McNaught (10).

The loss means Gilas misses an outright ticket to the second round of the qualifiers. They'll need to bounce back on March 1 when they face Australia — also at MoA Arena — in what is now essentially a must-win game to keep their World Cup hopes alive. Tim Cone's squad will have to regroup fast.

Justin Brownlee, who was expected to be a major factor, was held to just 4 points — a surprisingly quiet night for the naturalized Filipino player. June Mar Fajardo was also blanked with zero points. When your two biggest names combine for 4 points, winning becomes nearly impossible no matter how hard the rest of the team fights.

The silver lining? Gilas showed heart in the comeback attempt, and the crowd at MoA Arena was behind them every step of the way. But heart alone doesn't win qualifiers — execution does. Sunday's game against Australia is now the biggest game of the Gilas program's 2026 calendar. Walang room for error.

Source: Spin.ph / Inquirer

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