MANILA, Philippines – Finding the silver lining in a lopsided loss is a burdensome task.

Coach Nenad Vucinic would rather address what went wrong after Gilas Pilipinas absorbed a 106-60 road beating at the hands New Zealand in the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers in Auckland on Thursday, June 30.

Handed a 25-point rout the first time they met the Tall Blacks in the Asian Qualifiers in February, the Filipinos fared worse this time as they trailed 26 points at halftime en route to the 46-point defeat.

“It is very hard to find positives with such a heavy loss. I do not think there was any point focusing on positives,” said Vucinic, who coached New Zealand from 2006 to 2014.

“We have to eliminate the negative things that we had tonight.”

On top of that list are the Philippines’ struggles to protect the ball and shoot from long distance.

Gilas Pilipinas tallied almost twice as many turnovers (19) as assists (11) and shot a poor 15% (4-of-26) from three-point land.

Although the Kiwis did not exactly shoot well from beyond the arc (27%), they poured it in inside with 52 points in the paint as they finished the game with a 50% clip from the field.

New Zealand also minimized its turnovers (10) and recorded more assists (14).

But if there is any consolation in the blowout loss for Vucinic, his young squad experienced first-hand the level of competition they need to match in preparation for tougher opponents in the World Cup.

“It is a good thing for the young players to understand what level now we need to be to play at a high level in international basketball,” said Vucinic.

“The Tall Blacks dominated us in all aspects of the game. And that is something that will help us to get better in the future.”

Gilas Pilipinas returns home to host India for its final first-round assignment at the Mall of Asia Arena on Sunday, July 3. – Rappler.com