Le'afa's Tall Blacks lose thriller to the Philippines

A thriller in Manila went the way of the home side, with Gilas Philippines earning a hard-fought first-ever victory over New Zealand, headlined by Sydney Kings' Izayah Le'afa, in their FIBA Asia Cup qualifying game at the Mall of Asia Arena - surviving a torrid Tall Blacks fourth-quarter fightback to win 93-89.

Head coach Judd Flavell’s young Tall Blacks will rue a poor five-minute spell at the end of the third quarter when defensive lapses allowed the Philippines to go on a 16-point run and establish what would in the end prove to be a winning lead after the New Zealanders had edged the early exchanges.

Flavell could not fault his side’s effort in his first game in charge of the national team but highlighted that third-quarter lapse as costly.

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“That was a good battle between two teams that bring a different game, the Philippines play a different style, they are a post up team with two true bigs out there and a big guard in Brownlee," Flavell said to Tall Blacks media.

"I thought we matched their physicality for most of the ball game, but there were patches there where they got extra rebounds and created momentum, and that was the story of the third quarter.”

Flavell saw plenty to like though from a young group that had very little time in preparation.

“There was a lot to like out there, we had great spacing where we could attack and find shooters when the ball was moving, and we shot the ball really well. 

"There are huge positives, and the fourth quarter fight was one for me. 

"For the majority of the contest, I really enjoyed watching us battle and staying in the contest, and just battling hard.”

Corey Webster started his time as captain with a bang, making his first three looks at the basket and when the 35-year-old made back-to-back triples, Philippines called time out with barely 90 seconds played.

Sam Waardenburg gave the Gilas little respite as he followed suit, making his first two buckets including a three of his own.

Philippines soon found their groove though, dominating in the paint and eventually making a couple of triples to take the lead for the first time late in the quarter, only for a long Waardenburg jump shot to ease the Tall Blacks into a two-point lead at the end of the first quarter.

The Tall Blacks started the second quarter in similar fashion, with Webster and Waardenburg going bang bang from long range to extend their lead to 8 points, and again the home side called time within 90 seconds to chat about things.

The remedy was again found in the paint, with the twin towers of Kai Sotto and Jun Mar Fajardo bossing the Kiwis under the hoop as the deficit was quickly shut down, helped by triples from Scottie Thompson and naturalized American star Justin Brownlee.

The two teams then went bucket for bucket to the main break, ending level at 45 each.

The Tall Blacks earned that parity on the back of superb long-range shooting, ending the half with the three-ball dropping at 50 per cent, with Webster a perfect 3/3 for a game-high 13 points.

The third quarter was a case of rinse and repeat in the opening exchanges, with the Tall Blacks dominating from outside the arc and the Philippines strong-arming the game in the paint. 

Webster continued with the hot hand, Waardenburg and Le’afa added triples, but Gilas continued to find the answers, winning the rebound battle, and never letting the New Zealanders get out of sight.

The home side then launched a 16-0 run to take control of proceedings late in the third, opening a nine-point advantage at the final break, their 27-point quarter aided by multiple turnovers and poor defensive decisions by the Tall Blacks.

The Tall Blacks did not panic and came back into the contest by committee, earning points in the paint and continuing to shoot the three ball well as the New Zealanders closed the deficit to two points with under two minutes remaining.

A frantic final 60 seconds saw Tom Vodanovich drain a clutch triple (his 5^th of the night) before Justin Brownlee made two crucial free throws to again extend the lead to 4 with 11.1 seconds on the clock as the Tall Blacks threw everything at the Gilas in a brave display.

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But the final say was with the home side as they rode the support of a fanatical 20,000 sellout crowd home to a historic first win over New Zealand and in the process booked their place at the FIBA Asia Cup in Saudi Arabia next year.

New Zealand has the chance to do the same in a quick turnaround when they host Chinese Taipei at Christchurch’s Wolfbrook Arena on Monday night, tip off 7pm.

Corey Webster led the scoring for New Zealand with 25 points (5/6 triples) and was well supported by Tom Vodanovich with 19 (5 of 7 triples), Sam Waardenburg 19 points and seven rebounds, while Taylor Britt put up 13 assists to go with his eight points.

King #251 Le'afa added six points, one assist and one steal in the defeat.

The Tall Blacks were without Max Darling, who did not travel to Manila as he continued to rehab a groin injury, a replacement for Darling will be announced in the next 24 hours and Sam Mennenga also stayed in New Zealand and will join the team for Monday’s clash with Chinese Taipei in Christchurch.