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| Gilas is now assured of the silver. PSC-POC Pool (file photo) |
PASAY--Many Gilas Pilipinas fans had already conceded to the possibility of settling for the bronze medal in the Asian Games men's 5x5 basketball event when host team China opened a 20-point lead before halftime.
However, the "never-say-die" spirit instilled by Ginebra's main men, head coach Tim Cone and resident import Justin Brownlee, became the catapult of Gilas' huge shocker against China.
Gilas showed early glimpses of a comeback in the third quarter, and Brownlee completed the rally in the fourth quarter to score a 77-76 win against China in their semifinal battle on Wednesday night at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center.
Gilas' lethargic second quarter after keeping the game close in the first led to China taking a 46-26 advantage late in the period before settling for a 48-30 halftime lead.
However, Gilas held China to just 14 points in the third quarter and cut the lead down to 12, 62-50, entering the fourth, which eventually set up Brownlee's late barrage.
Brownlee hit three straight triples that helped Gilas trim the gap further to five, 66-61, with 7:43 remaining.
China tried to pull away again and upped the lead to nine, 76-67, with 3:07 left, but Gilas responded with a 10-0 run within the final 2:12 of the game with Brownlee finishing the game-turning rally with eight straight points including back-to-back threes that put Gilas up with 23.3 seconds left.
Zhang Zhenlin tried to win it for China, but he missed a pull-up jumper and CJ Perez grabbed the game-saving rebound against China's towering frontline.
Brownlee, who only rested for nine seconds in the game, led Gilas with 33 points on 12-of-21 shooting including 7-for-12 on threes, five rebounds, four assists, and one steal.
Scottie Thompson added 13 points, eight rebounds, three assists, and three steals for the Philippines, which is now assured of at least matching its best Asian Games finish since the quadrennial meet allowed pros to play in 1990 and will now fight Jordan, 90-71 winner over Chinese Taipei in the first semifinal, in the championship game on Friday night.
Zhao Rui paced China, which dropped to the bronze medal game against Chinese Taipei, with 18 points on four triples, five rebounds, six assists, and two steals.
Gilas essentially swept a home-and-home set against China as they blew them out at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City during the FIBA World Cup.
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