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| New Zealand survived Gilas to finish fifth. FIBA |
MANILA--Gilas Pilipinas came just short of pulling off a major upset, but New Zealand banked on its height advantage to seal a 78-71 win in the FIBA Asia Cup fifth-place game on Saturday at the Shenzhen Sports Center.
Behind a strong third quarter, where they held the Lady Tall Blacks to only 11 points, Gilas was on track to take them down after leading, 63-57, with 8:19 left.
However, New Zealand, pouncing its way inside, finished the game on a 21-8 run, highlighted by an 11-0 rally to retake the lead for good, to escape the shocker.
Esra McGoldrick led NZ with 17 points, seven rebounds, two assists, one steal, and two blocks, while Emilia Shearer added 16 points, six rebounds, four assists, and one block.
Vanessa De Jesus led Gilas, which settled for sixth place for the second straight edition, with 16 points, four rebounds, and four assists.
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