Simply put, Justin Brownlee and Gilas Pilipinas cannot afford another loss in their next game against Iraq, or an early exit from the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 awaits.
Justin Brownlee gave everything — 37 points, relentless hustle, and a late scoring surge — but Gilas Pilipinas still walked away staring at elimination.
Unlike their opening loss to Chinese Taipei, Brownlee avoided foul trouble and carried the scoring load from start to finish, yet the Nationals stumbled against New Zealand, 94-86, dropping to 0-2 in the FIBA Asia Cup 2025.
[ALSO READ: Gilas Pilipinas fall to New Zealand, go 0-2 in Group D of FIBA Asia Cup 2025]
Dwight Ramos added 19 points as Gilas Men stormed back from a 19-point deficit to pull within 82-85 on a Brownlee three-pointer with under four minutes left in regulation.
But the rally unraveled in the final stretch. Off a timeout, Ramos threw an errant pass, and Brownlee committed a shot-clock violation on the next possession.
The Tall Blacks capitalized on those mistakes and sealed the win over Gilas, improving to 2–0 and joining Chinese Taipei at the top of the standings. The two teams will face off on Sunday, August 10, to determine who will secure Group D.
“We just got to move forward. We can’t hang our heads or be down on this loss. We have to take whatever we learn from it and just move forward. At the end of the day, we just have to keep fighting and show our Filipino pride,” Brownlee said.
[ALSO READ: Brownlee on Gilas' loss to New Zealand in Asia Cup: 'I still like the fight in our guys']
Gilas Men, in fact, showed some fight despite stumbling once again with a slow start that resulted in a 55-41 halftime deficit.
Ramos led a riveting Gilas response in the third frame, scoring 10 points to bring the Nationals to within 68-74 against the Tall Blacks entering the fourth.
“We’re coming out and we know what we’re supposed to do, but we’re still shell-shocked. We know they’re gonna shoot threes and play fast. We already knew that, but they still did it,” Ramos admitted.
Jordan Ngatai set the tone for New Zealand firing 19 of his team-high 22 points in the first half. Taylor Britt took over late, scoring six points in the final 3:40 minutes to finish with 19 points and seven assists.
Head coach Tim Cone expressed disappointment in another deflating Gilas loss, noting that the team "just couldn’t get over the hump" in the end.
But hope is not lost, as the Philippines still have a shot at advancing, provided Gilas Men can defeat Iraq on Saturday, August 10, in their final group assignment.
The winner of that clash will clinch third place in Group D and advance to the qualification round for the quarterfinals, where they’ll face the second-place team from Group C.
“We’re disappointed, but the tournament’s not over for us. We have a big game against Iraq coming up and will see if we can get into the next round,” Cone insisted.
[ALSO READ: Tim Cone, Gilas focus on mental adjustments after dropping to 0-2 in FIBA Asia Cup]
He continued: “We just need to keep battling and keep our heads up. There’s still more to do, and we’re gonna be ready for that next game.”
“In the second half, we’re playing like we were supposed to. I just hope we carry this momentum into the next game,” Ramos added.
[ALSO READ: Dwight Ramos credits Pinoy fans in Gilas' 2nd half surge vs New Zealand in FIBA Asia Cup]
(With reports from Carlo Pamintuan)