Gilas Pilipinas vs. Wellington Saints: Score and Reaction from 2015 MVP Cup

Gilas Pilipinas are one win away from taking home the inaugural MVP Cup. Terrence Romeo scored 18 points off the bench and Andray Blatche added 16, as the Philippines stormed back from a double-digit deficit to earn an 84-81 victory over New Zealand on Saturday.

The home country entered the fourth quarter down 65-54 after a frustrating offensive stretch saw it score just 34 points in the second and third combined. Romeo, who had struggled for most of the game, came through with 14 of his 18 points in the fourth. He knocked down four three-pointers, creating brilliantly off the dribble and continuing an ascent that began at the William Jones Cup.

Romeo's performance helped atone for the struggles of Jayson William and Dondon Hontiveros, who went a combined 5-of-18 from the field. William managed to have four assists, but guard play was a major weakness for Gilas until the fourth.

Blatche, who added 16 points and nine rebounds, did most of the early heavy lifting. The former NBA forward was in far better form in his second MVP Cup game than in his first, where he had just 12 points and missed on all but one of his eight three-pointers. Blatche upped his efficiency against New Zealand largely by cutting his threes in half, something he should probably consider doing again against Chinese Taipei.

“Andray’s offense has got to find his rhythm and he’s got to get involved in the running game," head coach Tab Baldwin said, per Randolph B. Leongson of Inquirer.net. "He’ll shoot the ball better than he shot it tonight. His transition isn’t there and he’s really not running the lanes for us."

ITSUO INOUYE/Associated Press

Kevin Braswell led all scorers with 25 points for New Zealand, though his eight turnovers did not help matters. Wellington Saints coughed the ball up 20 times overall compared to eight for Gilas. Their struggles holding onto the ball were largely responsible for their downfall, as they shot 51.7 percent from the floor overall.

Justin Edwards (17 points), Ray Turner (17 points) and Bryan Davis (12 points) were each in double figures for New Zealand. Turner added 15 rebounds and has been on fire through the first two games. He's averaging 21 points and 12 rebounds overall.

Beyond the four double-digit scorers, however, New Zealand did not get much. Its bench had one more point (seven) than foul (six) and attempted only eight shots. Contrast that to the Philippines, which actually got a majority of its points from reserves. Calvin Abueva had 10 points and six rebounds in 20 minutes of action, and Ranidel De Ocampo had nine points and three assists.

Gilas now head into the final day of the round-robin tournament as a prohibitive favorite. Despite the fact that Wellington Saints have a better point differential, Gilas are the only undefeated team remaining in the event. 

Their matchup Sunday against Chinese Taipei is as close to a gimme as you can get in the tournament. Chinese Taipei has been defeated by a total of 36 points through its first two games, including a 99-91 loss to Talk N' Text, the other team from the Philippines in this event. Gilas are considered the so-called "A team" of the two, so it should stand to reason they will move through Chinese Taipei with flying colors.

That said, if the offense doesn't show marked improvement from its performance early Saturday, it could be a closer game than expected.

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