The 2degrees Tall Ferns have secured fifth place in the 2025 FIBA Women’s Asia Cup, following a come from behind 77-71 victory over the Philippines in Shenzhen this evening.
McKenna Dale and Emme Shearer set the tone early with a smooth link-up play, followed quickly by Shearer’s steal and fast-break finish.
The Tall Ferns capitalised on their height advantage, with Esra McGoldrick scoring inside and Tayla Dalton adding two early buckets to build momentum.
Shearer continued her strong start by draining her first three-pointer of the night, courtesy of a pinpoint transition skip pass from Dalton. The Tall Ferns were firing on all cylinders, executing with pace and precision.
The Philippines, however, were up to the challenge, responding with consistent scoring to stay within reach.
Ritorya Tamilo made a notable impact off the bench, anchoring the defence and using her size to secure easy buckets in the paint, helping keep the contest competitive.
Shearer continued her hot start with another triple at the start of the second quarter, taking her tally to eight points, and then assisted McGoldrick for her first three-pointer of the night as the Tall Ferns opened up a 14-point lead.
The team was executing with pace and precision, firing on all cylinders, and looked to threaten to take the game away from their opponents.
The Philippines responded with resilience. Vanessa De Jesus sparked a scoring run, knocking down three straight buckets to reach double digits and cut the deficit back to single digits.
Ella Tofaeono added her name to the scoresheet with a strong finish inside, followed by another composed bucket as the Tall Ferns looked to steady the ship.
De Jesus continued to pour it on, almost single-handedly keeping the Philippines in the contest. Khate Castillo then found her rhythm from way downtown, draining a pair of long-range triples to further close the gap.
McKenna Dale knocked down a trademark three-pointer in the final minute of the half to give the Tall Ferns a late boost. But Sumayah Sugapong had the final say before the break, banking in a buzzer-beating triple to end the half on a high for the Philippines. The shot capped off a strong second quarter for the Filipinas, who trimmed New Zealand’s lead to just four heading into halftime.
Whatever coach Nat Hurst said at halftime seemed to work its magic.
Esra McGoldrick wasted no time getting the Tall Ferns back on track, opening the second half with a big triple before finding Dale cutting through the lane for an easy deuce. The momentum looked to be swinging back in the Tall Ferns favour.
But the Philippines weren’t backing down. De Jesus continued to carry the offensive load, and it was Pastrana who stepped up with a clutch three-pointer to tie the game at 48-all.
Ash Strawbridge broke the deadlock with an energetic burst off the bench, scoring her first bucket of the game and injecting fresh intensity into the Tall Ferns’ attack. Sugapong, however, remained a threat from deep, knocking down her third triple of the night. Her shot giving the Philippines the edge late in the third quarter, and they carried a three-point lead into the final period.
The fourth began with another Castillo triple and a tough finish at the rim, as the Philippines continued their onslaught. But Strawbridge again made an immediate impact off the bench, hustling for a putback bucket. A slick reversal to Bec Pizzey led to one of the easiest finishes she’s had all tournament, cutting the lead to four.
Castillo answered with another triple to keep the Tall Ferns at arm’s length, but a huge possession featuring multiple offensive rebounds ended with Charlotte Whittaker trimming the lead to one. Game on in the fourth.
Emme Shearer eventually put the Tall Ferns back in front, lifting her tally to 13 points, and McKenna Dale followed with a smooth 10-footer to extend the lead to three.
New Zealand’s hustle went up another gear, dominating the offensive glass and locking in defensively.
McGoldrick added another bucket, and Shearer capped off her night with a clutch and-one play to push the lead to eight with just over two minutes remaining.
That would be enough to seal the win, as the 2degrees Tall Ferns held firm to close out the game and secure fifth place at the 2025 FIBA Women’s Asia Cup.
The 2degrees Tall Ferns absolutely dominating the rebound count, 66-35 in this one, a big factor in their fourth quarter comeback.
Coach Natalie Hurst really proud of her teams effort tonight, throughout the FIBA Asia Cup and throughout what has been a period of adjustment for the group.
“We don’t really talk about our lead up, but with this particular group, you know, I had a Tall Ferns squad in May, we had four days of practice. We played three games against the Opals, then I get a Tall Ferns squad in July with five people changed. We have three practices and two practice matches and then we come to Asia Cup.
With the new staff, I’ve had eight practices in total, with two different squads, and we’ve come out and we’ve done ourselves proud here at the Asia Cup.”
Whilst it wasn’t always pretty basketball, tonight’s win was one of attrition and fighting through. Standout Tall Fern, Emme Shearer, happy with the way the group stuck to their processes throughout the game.
“I think we grinded out a really tough game. We stayed together really well as a team, and I think the fact we can go through those ups and downs and still find a way to win and kinda like Nat said – the short amount of time we had together, everyone buying in to what we had to do… at the end of the day, that’s what helped us be super successful.”
Coach Hurst echoing those sentiments also.
“Whilst today probably wasn’t the prettiest game for us, we expect it to be like that whilst we try and get some consistency within our squad and get some time together. The fact we could hang together for 40 minutes when not a lot was going our way, but we can stay together and grind out a win… just super proud of how the girls did that today.”
The win sees the 2degrees Tall Ferns finish fifth in this Asia Cup, just one spot behind where the 2023 squad finished.
The squad and coaching staff will turn their attention to World Cup qualification, which will begin next year.
2degrees Tall Ferns 77 (McGoldrick 17p, 7r, Shearer 16p, 6r, 4a, Dale 11p, 7r) defeat Philippines 71 (De Jesus 16p, Castillo 14p)
Q1: 19-13
HT: 42-38
Q3: 53-56
FT: 77-71
