Gilas Pilipinas quarterfinals bound
Outscores host Saudi Arabia in overtime
Game on Wednesday
(King Abdullah Sports City, Jeddah)
2 p.m. (7 p.m. Manila time) – Australia vs Philippines
IT never gets old.
Justin Brownlee (JB) being Mr. Clutch, Mr. Big Shot, anything his team needs him to be to turn a losing turn into a victory lap.
And it gets even more spectacular when JB does it for Gilas Pilipinas.
From the PBA with Barangay Ginebra, Mr. Brownlee has brought his act to the international stage.
He spearheaded the Nationals’ amazing run to the Asian Games gold in 2023 in Hangzhou then dished out a tour-de-force performance in their stunning upset of host Latvia in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament last year.
On Tuesday night in Jeddah, the Gilas naturalized player put up a show once more with the Philippine squad facing elimination in the FIBA Asia Cup’s Qualification to the quarterfinals stage against home side Saudi Arabia.
Reprising his old role for coach Tim Cone, Mr. Brownlee led an 8-2 closing barrage capped by a big-time trey that tied it up in regulation and provided the momentum to a gutsy 95-88 win in overtime to the delight of Pinoys both inside the Jeddah venue and back home who stayed up until 2:00 a.m. to catch them on TV.
That epic W sent the Filipinos to a tough Last-8 duel with defending champion Australia Wednesday at 2 p.m. (7 p.m. Manila time).
“These are the moments every player dreams of, when the game is tight, coming down wire to wire and the atmosphere is like (Tuesday),” said Mr. Brownlee, who finished with 29.
“I can’t really say it’s clutch genes or something that I developed. When you see the opportunity as a player, you just got to go after it. It doesn’t always work in your favor. Obviously, you can’t make every shot or make the best out of every moment but you just got to have courage and take those opportunities.”
After Mr. Brownlee did the heavy lifting in wiping out a six-point deficit in the last 1:24 of regulation, Kevin Quiambao (17 points) and AJ Edu (17-11) joined their naturalized player in sealing the deal in overtime, 16-9.
Up next are the mighty Boomers who swept Group A on the way to the quarters. It will be the first Gilas-Australia gig since the infamous brawl in Bulacan in 2018 during the FIBA World Cup Qualifiers.
“We didn’t expect to play them this early in the tournament. But we lost our first two games (to Chinese-Taipei and New Zealand in Group D) so that got us here. But we figured if we’re going to do something special in this tournament, we have to go through Australia at some point,” said Mr. Cone.
“So it’s here in front of us. We’re going to do our best and get at them.”
The hope is for the Justin Brownlee Show to make an encore against the world No. 7 Boomers to have a big chance at success. If they pull it off, a Final Four showdown with either Iran or Taiwan awaits. — Olmin Leyba
The scores
Philippines 95 – Brownlee 29, Quiambao 17, Edu 17, Ramos 13, Fajardo 6, Tamayo 5, Thompson 4, Newsome 4, Perez 0, Aguilar 0, Malonzo 0.
Saudi Arabia 88 – Abdur Rahkman 33, Al Suwailem 26, Almuwallad 10, Abdel Gabar 8, Almarwani 4, Kadi 3, Belal 3, Mohammed Almarwani 1, Shubayli 0.
Quarterscores: 25-15; 40-37; 60-59; 79-79; 95-88
