Homecrowd critical for GilasMANILA, Philippines — Gilas assistant coach Sean Chambers realizes New Zealand is a tough match-up but with the homecrowd as its sixth man, the national team has a chance to shock the Tall Blacks tonight and Australia on Sunday, both at the MOA Arena, in the second FIBA World Cup Asia qualifying window. In the group stage of that competition, New Zealand beat Gilas, 94-86. With the homecrowd, we can shock both of them.”Chambers said because of coach Tim Cone’s motto of keeping the main Gilas pool intact, it was easy to get the players together. “Coach Tim is all about building relationships,” said Chambers. We want good people who understand this journey, playing for Gilas, for the country.

Source: Philippine Star February 26, 2026 09:09 UTC