Tall Blacks draw the Philippines at Asia Cup
- NZ Sports Wire
- 5 days ago
- 2 min read
The Tall Blacks will renew their recent rivalry with the Philippines at the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup.
New Zealand and Gilas Pilipinas were drawn in Group D - along with Chinese Taipei and Iraq - on Tuesday for the 31st edition of the continental championship in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia from August 5-17.
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Gilas defeated the Tall Blacks for the first time in a FIBA competition last November in Asia Cup qualifying, winning 93-89 in Pasay, Philippines, before Judd Flavell's team responded with an 87-70 win in Auckland in February.
The two countries have met five times in the last three years in the FIBA Asia Cup, and FIBA Asia Cup and FIBA World Cup qualifying, with the Tall Blacks going 4-1.
With former Tall Blacks head coach Tab Baldwin in charge of Gilas in 2022, New Zealand won three times, by an average of 29 points.
As one of the four qualifying group winners, New Zealand could not be drawn with Australia, Japan and hosts Saudi Arabia. They also avoided Iran, Lebanon and China, the fourth-, fifth- and sixth-ranked teams in Asia.
The world No 22 Tall Blacks will face the 34th-ranked Philippines in their second game of group play on August 8, two days after their opener against 92nd-ranked Iraq, who were the last nation to qualify for the Asia Cup.
They close the group stage against world No 73 Chinese Taipei on August 10, with one win likely enough to reach the knockout stage. Group winners go straight to the quarterfinals, with second- and third-placed teams moving into a play-in round.
New Zealand will be competing at their third FIBA Asia Cup, having previously finished fourth in 2017 and third in 2022, beaten by Australia in the semifinals both times.