Tall Blacks beat Philippines in double-OT
- 5 hours ago
- 1 min read
New Zealand have held on to beat the Philippines 106-102 in double overtime in Auckland, to book their place in the second round of World Cup qualifying.
The result confirms Tall Blacks will finish second behind Australia in their Asian Qualifying group, regardless of the result of Monday's game against Guam, also in Auckland.
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Added to the pressure on the home side at Spark Arena, most of the 9500 were vocal Filipino fans, creating a loud, intense atmosphere.
The game had 13 lead changes and it took a steal by Carlin Davison - with 10 seconds to play in the second extra spell - to finally break clear.
After scores were locked at 83-83 at the end of regular time both sides scored 10-each in the first period of extra time before the home side scored 13 to the visitors nine.
Shea Ili and Jordan Ngatai scored from subsequent free-throws to clinch the victory.
Experienced pair Reuben Te Rangi (22 points) and Ili (21) led the scoring for the Tall Blacks, while Sam Waardenburg used his physicality to pull in 16 points and 10 rebounds.
Sam Mennenga and Tai Webster also reached double figures.
Kevin Quiambao and Juan Gomez De Liano both scored 23 points for the Philippines as they narrowly failed to end a four-game losing streak against New Zealand.