ONE SPORTS/RM CHUA

FAR from ideal but getting there.

A listless performance in the first half and a fiery showing in the second marked Gilas Pilipinas’ 103-98 come-from-behind victory over the Macau Bears Monday in a testy warm up ahead of its FIBA Asia Cup mission.

Much work is still needed from hereon but the Nationals are confident of hitting top form in time for the gold-medal mission in the Aug. 5-17 Continental meet.

“I really like our chances. The team has been having really great practices. As you saw (against Macau), I think the second half is more how we want to play, especially on the defensive end,” said Justin Brownlee, who exploded for a game-high 32 points spiked by a five-of-seven shooting from three point range in Gilas’ fightback from 21 down versus import-laden Macau.

“And yeah, it’s been a really great couple of weeks for us. Everybody’s getting more comfortable with each other, the chemistry has been really great. So I’m just excited overall for the whole experience and I can’t wait to see how we do out there.”

Brownlee and Co. leave for Jeddah, Saudi Arabia Wednesday to continue their more-tournament buildup there. They’re slated to face Jordan on Saturday in a tuneup, though Rondae Hollis-Jefferson won’t be beefing up their old rival.

Coach Tim Cone said after taking a breather against the Bears, June Mar Fajardo is expected to join the scrimmages in Jeddah. But Calvin Oftana, he reported, is “doubtful” due the ankle sprain he sustained during the PBA Philippine Cup finals.

“We were given a medical report from his camp and we’re not sure if he’s going to be available for the whole tournament. We’re going to try to address that (in the coming days). And we got Troy (Rosario) and RJ (Abarrientos) sitting on the wings to step in if necessary,” said Mr. Cone.

The Nationals will kick off their Asia Cup campaign in Group D against Chinese-Taipei on Aug. 6 before taking on New Zealand the next day and Iraq on Aug. 9.

Their initial object is to advance to the quarterfinals and ultimately, rule it all.

“Our goal is to win a gold medal. We’re going to go out there to try to win a gold medal. Will we? I’m not sure. That’s certainly our goal. That’s not what we’re focused on, though, we’re focused on every day, And right now, we’re focused on the first game we play,” said Mr. Cone.

“Man, it’s an incredible challenge you know. You got some really good teams out there… I think with the team we have, that’s very possible. It’s just going to take us an extreme amount of hard work and dedication from everybody to buy into that. With everybody doing that, I think it’s a bright future to be honest for the Gilas program,” said Mr. Brownlee. — Olmin Leyba

The Scores

Philippines 103 – Brownlee 32, Ramos 19, Edu 15, Quiambao 14, Thompson 10, Perez 7, Newsome 2, Malonzo 2, Abarrientos 2, Aguilar 0, Tamayo 0.

Macau Black Bears 98 – Douglas 23, Amorie Anthony 22, Leung 17, Peek 14, Shackleford 7, Millora-Brown 6, Dennis 5, Obasa 2, Ndiaye 2, Micek 0.

Quarterscores: 25-33, 46-63, 79-81, 103-98

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