The Filipino crowd watching Gilas Pilipinas in action during the 2025 Fiba Asia Cup. –FIBA PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—The Filipino crowd during Gilas Pilipinas’ games never ceases to amaze New Zealand coach Judd Flavell. Thursday night was no different.
The Tall Blacks put away a pesky the Philippine squad, 94-86, in Group D of the 2025 Fiba Asia Cup, much to the delight of Flavell.
READ: Gilas Pilipinas falls to New Zealand, drops to 0-2 in Fiba Asia Cup
What he enjoyed even more was playing in front of another large contingent of Filipino supporters.
“I said in the last press conference that this game was going to have a fun atmosphere with Filipinos coming out with numbers,” said New Zealand’s top coach at King Abdullah Sports City.
New Zealand Tall Blacks during their clash against Gilas Pilipinas in the 2025 Fiba Asia Cup. –FIBA PHOTO
“We played them in Auckland back in February. They packed out the stadium then and now it’s just another fun atmosphere.”
READ: Filipino crowd in Jeddah fuels Gilas Pilipinas’ rally in loss
When the Tall Blacks took on Gilas during the final window of the tournament’s qualifiers a few months back–in their own backyard–the OFWs in New Zealand also dominated the crowd.
“The atmosphere was something else. When you play the Philippines, that’s what you get,” Flavell said last February after New Zealand defeated Gilas, 87-70.
Despite the intense and rowdy crowd on Thursday, the Tall Blacks still came out on top. The win improved their record to 2-0 in Group D, while the Philippines dropped to 0-2 alongside Iraq.
Flavell praised his team, saying the victory over Gilas will prepare them for tougher games ahead in the continental meet.
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“These are the types of games that’ll prepare us for what lies ahead. Every game from here on out will be as hard or even harder,” he said. “I’m very happy with the result and the way we went about it with an enjoyable night and atmosphere.”