Gilas falls to NZ nat’l squad

THE GILAS Pilipinas finished off their New Zealand training camp with a heartbreaking 76-77 loss to the New Zealand national squad, named the Tall Blacks, in the last of their scheduled exhibition matches in the Kiwi land.

According to a report that was posted on InterAKTV, head coach Chot Reyes reported that the Gilas lost the tight match due to a questionable looseball foul that was called with just four seconds left.

Had the call not been made, the match would have gone to overtime, Reyes said.

Naturalized center Marcus Douthit was back to his old self after missing two games because of a back injury and finished with 28 points and 14 rebounds.

Still, the result notwithstanding, the Gilas finished this training camp on a positive note, having gone toe-to-toe with a squad that played in the last Olympics and World Championships. The Tall Blacks are ranked 18th overall in the Fiba-World./Correspondent Jonas Panerio