Nationals clobber Kiwi rivals in friendly

MANILA, Philippines — Gilas Pilipinas overcame travel woes and the absence of Justin Brownlee in overpowering Kiwi club Manawatu Jets, 90-61, in a tuneup match yesterday in New Zealand.

With coach Tim Cone deciding to give Brownlee a breather, the Nationals used a balanced attack to get their buildup for the Window 3 of the FIBA World Cup Qualifiers off and running.

Kevin Quiambao, with 13 points, Carl Tamayo, with 12, and Troy Rosario, with 11, took the scoring cudgels while Juan Gomez de Liaño shot nine and high-flying Mike Phillips and Dwight Ramos had eight apiece in the game witnessed by a loud Pinoy crowd at the Fly Palmy Arena in Palmerston North.

Cone’s troops took care of business despite enduring a draining trip from their initial camp in Brisbane, Australia to the site of the friendly in NZ.

According to assistant coach Sean Chambers, the team’s flight from Brisbane to the New Zealand capital of Wellington encountered rough weather conditions, forcing the airline to reroute them to Auckland instead.

In Auckland, they had to sit on the tarmac for four hours and were initially told their plane would have to return to Brisbane due to customs issues. After two more hours, they were finally cleared to deplane in Auckland.

Chambers said they got into their rooms at midnight and by morning, took their flight to Wellington. From the NZ capital, they travelled nearly 150km to Palmerston North for the first of two tuneup games ahead of their WCQ duels against the Tall Blacks on Friday and Australia in Perth on Monday.

“Tough travel day yesterday (Saturday),” said Chambers. “This morning it’s all about a positive mindset. No excuses – just gratitude.”

Rosario dropped seven in the early barrage that lifted Gilas to a 25-12 tear against the Jets, who played without top stars Tai and Corey Webster. That set the tone for the comprehensive victory.