MANILA, Philippines–It looked like Gilas Pilipinas was down and out in the early stages of its Group D match against New Zealand in the 2025 Fiba Asia Cup.

That was until the Philippines’ sixth man came alive to spark a comeback rally.

READ: Gilas Pilipinas falls to New Zealand, drops to 0-2 in Fiba Asia Cup

And no, the sixth man wasn’t beside coach Tim Cone on the sidelines. They were scattered all over King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

“I think the crowd definitely played a big part especially when we were making a run,” said Dwight Ramos, who dropped 19 points against. New Zealand.

“It just felt like the arena was about to explode because it’s just full of Filipinos so shout out to them. They’re part of the reason why we came back.”

Gilas Pilipinas’ Dwight Ramos during a game against New Zealand in the 2025 Fiba Asia Cup. –FIBA PHOTO

Despite the surge, Gilas couldn’t pull the rug from under the Tall Blacks, who escaped with a 94-86 win.

The final margin may have been eight points, but New Zealand once led by as many as 18. With 1:14 left in the second quarter, Jack Andrew drained a 3-pointer to give the Tall Blacks a commanding 55-37 lead. They entered halftime ahead 55-41.

READ: Tim Cone on Gilas’ 0-2 start: I don’t think we all saw that coming

When Gilas returned from the tunnel for the third quarter, Ramos and company played almost a completely different game, fueled by the Filipino crowd’s energy.

“We played harder in the second half.  In the first half, we made a lot of mistakes that we knew we were supposed to look out for but we still made them.”

“I still think it was a better effort than against Chinese Taipei. They’re just a good team.”

Despite the mammoth comeback rally from Cone’s wards, Cone’s squad couldn’t complete the comeback and dropped to 0-2 in pool play.

New Zealand improved to 2-0 in Group D.

To stay alive in the Asia Cup, Gilas Pilipinas will need to beat Iraq on Saturday at 4 p.m.