Gilas Pilipinas WINS vs New Zealand 88-92 Jones Cup

With Terrence Romeo sidelined by an ankle injury, Gilas Pilipinas leaned on the heroics of Dondon Hontiveros and Asi Taulava to come out with a 92-88 victory against New Zealand on Friday at the William Jones Cup competition in Taiwan. Hontiveros strung three straight triples and connected on crucial charities in the final seconds of extra time to give the Philippines enough of a cushion to snatch the win. Gilas was down by as much as 17 points in the third before the duo of Asi Taulava and Jayson Castro steadily trimmed the Kiwi lead. The 38-year-old Hontiveros scored 11 of his 21 points in overtime.

 The 42-year-old Taulava, meanwhile, strung 12 markers and six boards in the second half and in extra time. Both teams shot well in the opening period, hitting more than 50 percent from the field for a 25-all tally after one. Neither team could create separation early in the second, though, while the Philippines entered early penalty at the 6:10 mark.

 Five from New Zealand's Mitch Newton pushed the Kiwi advantage to seven before Troy Rosario connected on a corner triple, 34-30. But Back to back hits by Brian Davis gave New Zealand its largest lead of the game, 43-32, heading into the break. At the half, Sonny Thoss led Gilas with eight markers while Calvin Abueva had six. With the Philippines stringing turnovers and struggling to convert from the field, New Zealand was able to bump their lead to 14, 53-39, with 4:40 left in the period. Gilas uncorked a 7-0 run late in the quarter, with Jayson Castro finishing off an and one to trim the lead to nine, 57-48. Six from an aggressive Asi Taulava sliced the lead even further heading into the final frame, 59-52. Dondon Hontiveros ushered in the start of the fourth with a triple, but Davis continued to find ways to keep New Zealand ahead.

 A thrilling sequence involving a Matt Ganuelas-Rosser rejection leading to a Calvin Abueva finish cut the lead to four anew, but the Kiwis continued to find success inside. Five straight points from Jayson Castro made it a two-point game with three and a half minutes remaining, before the sweet-shooting pointguard rattled in two charities to tie the game at 72-all. Brian Davis was able to re-establish the Kiwi lead right after, but a Taulava putback and a defensive stop gave the Philippines possession with 65 seconds left, 76-74. Castro and Davis exchanged makes to tie the game at 78-all with Gilas playing solid defense to send the game into overtime.