New Zealand ended the February window of the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers at the top of Group A after sweeping all of its three games at the Araneta Coliseum.

The Tall Blacks crushed India twice and demolished the Philippines by an average of 38.3 points.

Gilas Pilipinas sits at second place with a 1-1 card, while India resides at third and last place after going winless in three outings.

The Filipinos were scheduled to see action in four games in their hosting of the February window, but played just two games following the withdrawal of Korea, which got disqualified from the Asian Qualifiers.

New Zealand dropped a repeat exercise of dominance over India with a 90-65 rout to wrap up the second window of the 2023 FIBA World Cup Asia qualifiers at the Araneta Coliseum on Monday, February 28.

2020 New Zealand National Basketball League (NBL) MVP Tom Vodanovich coasted to another easy 20-point, 10-rebound double-double with 4 assists, and 4 steals. Sweet-shooting big man Rob Loe likewise had himself a double-double of 18 markers, and 10 boards on 7-of-10 shooting in just 16 minutes.

Team captain Vishesh Bhriguvanshi led the sorry loss with 10 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists, while Pranav Prince added 10 markers, 2 boards, and 2 blocks in 15 minutes off the bench.

Per the FIBA website, New Zealand finishes the window with a 3-0 record, and 6 classification points. Host country Philippines finishes with a 1-1 slate, and 3 points, while India finishes winless at 0-2 with 3 points as well.

Although no official announcement has been made yet, the FIBA site has disqualified South Korea out of Group A, and all wins by its group mates have been retracted as well. Korea’s fate for the next window in June remains to be seen.

New Zealand gave Gilas Pilipinas a harsh reality check at the second window of the 2023 FIBA World Cup qualifiers after the Tall Blacks cruised to an 88-63 blowout win.

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Thirdy Ravena finds no reason to be happy despite his brilliant all-around performance as Gilas Pilipinas absorbs a 25-point loss to New Zealand

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Gilas Pilipinas unraveled in the third period as New Zealand led by as many 22 points and seized a 65-48 lead with a quarter left to play.

The Filipinos cut their deficit to just 7 points, 33-40, off a Thirdy Ravena triple but the Kiwis closed out the quarter with a 27-15 run.

New Zealand’s lead swelled to double digits as the visitors went into the break with a 40-30 advantage over Gilas Pilipinas, which continued to struggle from the free throw line.

The Filipinos missed 7 of their 15 fouls shots, paving the way for the Kiwis to break away.

Tom Vodanovich paced New Zealand with 15 points, while Rob Loe and Dion Prewster chalked up 9 and 8 points, respectively.

Thirdy Ravena led the Philippines at halftime with 11 points, 3 assists, and 3 steals, while Dwight Ramos had 9 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 steals.

Thirdy Ravena dropped 10 points in the opening quarter to help Gilas Pilipinas stay within striking distance against New Zealand, who ended the period with a 22-19 lead.

Scoring more than half of the Philippines’ output, Ravena shot an efficient 4-of-6 clip, most coming from attacks to the rim.

Tom Vodanovich also had 10 points for the Kiwis.