Fans can watch the Philippines vs. New Zealand basketball game live online and see if the host Gilas Pilipinas can build off a strong opening game against France and score their first win in the FIBA Olympic qualifying tournament.
The Philippines team is looking to score its first Olympic bid in more than 40 years, and nearly got the qualifying tournament kicked off with a huge upset. The team played the world’s No. 4 ranked France team much closer than expected, jumping out to an early lead thanks to a big effort from its two stars before ultimately dropping a 93-84 decision.
The Gilas Pilipinas team will look to rebound against a much more beatable New Zealand quad. The teams will tip off on Wednesday at 9 p.m. local time from the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City, Philippines. The game will be available live online for fans who want to follow along but aren’t able to make it to a television (a link to the streaming video can be found below).
Fans who watch the Philippines vs. New Zealand basketball match live online will see if Gilas Pilipinas can replicate the fast start they found in the opening match. In a game many expected to be a blowout in favor of France and its NBA-heavy roster, the Philippines team actually jumped out to an early lead. It took a 9-2 French run in the second quarter to erase the once 10-point lead for Gilas Pilipinas.
https://twitter.com/AFPManila/status/750517331684569088
The hot start couldn’t last, FIBA.com noted, as the French team led by Tony Parker and Euroleague MVP Nando De Colo wore down the Philippines squad. De Colo ended with 27 points on 9-of-14 shooting for Les Bleus, the site noted.
“Philippine started scorching hot in this game, shooting 50% in the first quarter, but they cooled off even as France heated up through the rest of the game. In the end, coach Vincent Collet’s squad made 54% of their field goals, while Gilas Pilipinas’s shooting efficiency dropped to 41%. It also helped that France used better ball movement, which resulted in an 18-11 edge in assists.”
The basketball-crazed Philippines has been steadily building its national program and found some recent success, including advancing to the FIBA Asia Championship game last year. The team is led by Jayson Castro and import Andray Blatche, a pair that helped the Philippines team to a 30-20 lead over France in the second quarter.
FINAL: France defeats Philippines, 93-84. @NandoDeColo with 27 points and six rebounds to lead all players. #FIBAOQT pic.twitter.com/KvZ5wKNsyr
— CNN Philippines (@cnnphilippines) July 5, 2016
Monday’s saw a raucous home crowd cheering on the Gilas Pilipinas team, including the nation’s new president, Rodrigo Duterte.
“The Philippines played a great gamer because we knew before the game, they have something special and we were expecting a lot of enthusiasm especially with their president watching and the crowd cheering for them,” French coach Vincent Collet told Fox Sports .
But the NBA experience of the French squad was ultimately too much for the Philippines.
“Tony Parker was a handful with the ball screen offense… The real strength of the French was in their guards,” the Philippines’ American coach Tab Baldwin sad (via Yahoo Sports ).
The Gilas Pilipinas team will now try to rebound with a win over a much more beatable New Zealand team that ranks No. 21 in the FIBA world rankings. New Zealand ranks No. 28.
New Zealand has little height and only one player with foreign playing experience, and finished No. 15 in the 2014 FIBA World Cup.
Fans who want to watch the Philippines vs. New Zealand basketball game live online can click here for streaming video.
[Photo by Bullit Marquez/AP Images]
