Asia Cup Qualifiers: New Zealand Tops Group B
The FIBA Asia Cup is set to take place in August, and teams are gearing up for the competition. New Zealand's win over the Philippines has secured their top-six seeding, while Gilas will look to regroup and reassess their strategy ahead of the tournament.
New Zealand secured the top spot in Group B with a convincing win over the Philippines, while Australia completed a sweep of Thailand in Group A, and Guam took the third spot in Group C after a close match with China.
The Tall Blacks' 87-70 victory over the Philippines at Spark Arena ensured they finished top of Group B, securing a top-six seeding at the FIBA Asia Cup in August. The team was led by Tohi-Smith-Milner's 25 points, with Corey Webster scoring 14 points in his 100th game for New Zealand. The win marked a successful conclusion to their Asia Cup Qualifying campaign and avenged their previous loss to the Philippines.
Meanwhile, Gilas coach Tim Cone is weighing his options for the team's composition ahead of the FIBA Asia Cup in Jeddah on August 5-17. The late addition of Troy Rosario has expanded the pool to 16 players, but Cone has expressed a preference for a compact pool to minimize changes before international competitions. The team's lack of depth was evident in their loss to Chinese-Taipei, with new faces contributing 82 of the opponent's 91 points.
With 5.5 months to go before the FIBA Asia Cup, Cone must make hard decisions about the pool's composition. The team's upcoming match against New Zealand, which will bring in eight new players, highlights the need for Gilas to reassess its approach and prepare for the challenges ahead.
