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| Dwight Ramos went 3-for-5 on threes against Qatar. Qatar Basketball Federation |
MANILA--Gilas Pilipinas came out firing in the fourth quarter to stun host country Qatar, 74-71, on Day 1 of the Doha International Cup early Saturday (Philippine Time) at the QU Sports & Events Complex in Doha.
Down by as much as 11 late in the third quarter, Gilas outscored Qatar, 23-11, in the fourth to steal the win, although the latter still had its chances in the end.
Gilas scored five straight points, a split from AJ Edu, a dunk from Justin Brownlee, and a jumper from Dwight Ramos, to pull ahead, 72-69, with 1:42 left.
Tyler Harris kept Qatar in the game as he forced a goaltending call from Edu while getting a foul from Brownlee to end its scoring drought that lasted for three and a half minutes.
However, Harris missed the bonus free throw that could have tied the game, and Qatar failed to get the offensive rebound, giving the ball back to Gilas with 17.8 seconds left.
Scottie Thompson then made two charities to up Gilas' lead back to three, while Mike Lewis sorrily missed a game-tying three before the final buzzer.
Ramos had 15 points on 5-for-10 shooting including 3-of-5 on threes, two rebounds, two assists, one steal, and one block, while June Mar Fajardo added 12 points, seven rebounds, two assists, and one block for Gilas.
Harris put up 17 markers on 8-of-10 field goals, three rebounds, one assist, and one steal to lead Qatar.
Gilas will next face Lebanon, 82-70 winner against Egypt earlier in the day, later Saturday.
Box Scores:
Philippines (74) - Ramos 15, Fajardo 12, Brownlee 10, Thompson 10, Quiambao 7, Edu 6, Perez 6, Oftana 3, Tamayo 3, Newsome 2.
Qatar (71) - Harris 17, Lewis 15, Ndao 9, Fouda 9, Seydou 9, Abbsher 7, Saad 3, Magassa 2, Dieng 0, Grantham 0, Avdic 0.
Quarterscores: 18-20, 38-40, 51-60, 74-71.
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