GAME TODAY
(King Abdullah Sports City)
7 p.m. – Australia vs. Philippines
JUSTIN Brownlee will be remembered by Saudi Arabia for perhaps a thousand and one sleepless nights.
Akin to the classic Middle Eastern collection of folktales, the Gilas Pilipinas naturalized star etched his name on FIBA Asia Cup’s modern folklore—booming in a backbreaking three-pointer with 3.7 seconds left that forced overtime—and propelled the Nationals to a gutsy 95-88 victory over the host Saudis in their qualification battle for the quarterfinals.
The 6-foot-5 Brownlee’s triple off Marzouq Almuwallad mirrored the same clutch trey he drained for Ginebra in the PBA Big Dance in 2016—and also for his Gilas coach Tim Cone.
“We were fortunate that we were able to get the ball back and have a chance to tie it with three seconds to go. We just ran an old play for Justin that he’s familiar with and we got the switch that we wanted. Got a smaller guy on him and he was able to get a shot up over the top,” Cone said. “It’s exactly the same play we ran a few years ago to win a championship in the club level.
“So, he was familiar with it and that kind of spearheaded us forward once we got to the overtime, the momentum on that shot. The emotion from that shot propelled us through the overtime period. Just really proud of our guys. We didn’t quit,” he added.
The dramatic triumph—fashioned before an equally raucous Filipino crowd at the King Abdullah Sports City—enabled Cone’s charges to clinch a quarterfinals slot in the continental cage extravaganza.
Gilas faces reigning two-time champion and world No. 7 Australia tonight for a semifinals berth.
Brownlee scattered 29 points, four rebounds, and five assists for the Filipino cagers while big man AJ Edu chipped in 17 markers, 12 boards, and four dimes.
Kevin Quiambao and Dwight Ramos also had 17 and 13 points, respectively, for Gilas.
“They (Saudis) posed a lot of problems for us and by all rights, they had the game won, except for the guy sitting to my right hit the big shot and if you know his history, that’s not unusual. He’s been hitting big shots,” Cone said. “I’m his coach at his club team and when we played in the Asian games, he was hitting big shots all the time. So, this is nothing foreign to Justin, hit(ting) that big shot.
“Then we came out and played very well in the overtime, really got a groove going, got some momentum and were able to take it. But man, what a special game that was and a special performance by both teams.”
Cone gave props to his squad’s grit, typified by its fightback from a six-point deficit inside the final 1:24.
“We had some leads that we gave up, but they didn’t quit either, so again, that’s why it was an epic game,” he said. “Both teams battled to the very end. It was an amazing game.”
Against the Aussies it will take on for the first time since their infamous brawl in a qualifiers tiff in 2018, Gilas needs everything to fall into place tonight to extend its bid of winning it all after 40 long and weary years.
