MANILA – Gilas Pilipinas defied adversity and a raucous home crowd, escaping with a 95-88 overtime win over host Saudi Arabia to clinch a spot in the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup quarterfinals on Monday night (Tuesday in the Philippines) at King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Naturalized player Justin Brownlee delivered when it mattered most to steer the Philippine men’s basketball team into a last-eight clash with reigning champion Australia.
Brownlee, who concluded with a team-high 29 points, four rebounds, five assists, and a block, knocked down a free throw, a short jumper, and a contested three-pointer over Marzouq Almuwallad with 3.7 seconds in the fourth quarter to send the game into overtime.
“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 the smaller guy on him to get a shot up over the top,” Gilas head coach Tim Cone said.
“It’s exactly the same play we ran to win a championship (with the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings in 2016). He was familiar with it, and that kind of spearheaded us forward. The emotion from the shot propelled,” he added.
In the overtime period, Kevin Quiambao converted a corner three-pointer followed by a split free throw and a putback from Dwight Ramos as Gilas Pilipinas surged to an 85-79 advantage.
Quiambao and Ariel John Edu then converted crucial three-pointers late in the extension period to stretch the lead to double-digits at 95-85 following two free throws from Chris Newsome.
“We gotta give a lot of credit to our defense. We know our execution. We came out in the overtime and we knew we have to be aggressive right away, and we knew we had to take control of the game,” said Brownlee.
“I think everybody did a great job. It’s definitely not going to be an easy road, but we’re ready for any challenge,” added the six-time PBA champion.
Edu finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds, Quiambao matched him with 17 — six of those in overtime — while Ramos logged a 13-point, 10-rebound double-double for Gilas Pilipinas.
However, Gilas Pilipinas’ victory was hampered by an early exit by Jaymar Perez, who sustained a sprained ankle injury during his brief second quarter appearance. He joined Calvin Oftana on the sidelines for Gilas.
Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman led Saudi Arabia with 33 points, Mohammed Alsuwailem battled foul trouble to end up with 26 markers, while Marzouq Almuwallad contributed 10 points./PN
BOX SCORE:
PHILIPPINES 95 – Brownlee 29, Quiambao 17, Edu 17, Ramos 13, Fajardo 6, Tamayo 5, Thompson 4, Newsome 4, Aguilar 0, Malonzo 0, Perez 0.
SAUDI ARABIA 88 – Abdur-Rahkman 33, Alsuwailem 26, Almuwallad 10, Abdel Gabar 8, Ma. Almarwani 4, Belal 3, Kadi 3, Mo. Almarwani 1, Shubayli 0.
Quarterscores: 25-15, 40-37, 60-59, 79-79, 95-88.
