By REYNALD MAGALLON
Justin Brownlee and CJ Perez came up huge down the stretch as Gilas Pilipinas shook off a hard-fighting Thailand side, 87-72, in the men’s basketball tournament in the 19th Asian Games at the Zhejiang University Gymnasium in Hangzhou, China on Thursday, Sept. 28.
The Nationals recovered from a lethargic start and led by as many as 21 points but still needed some big baskets from Perez and Brownlee in the final frame to ensure that the Filipinos would not suffer any sort of collapse and pick up their second straight win.
Brownlee showed the way with an all-around effort of 22 points, 15 rebounds, five assists and four steals – none more lethal than the three-point bomb he unloaded after the Thais came within five, 70-65, behind a blazing 14-2 run midway through the final period.
Perez, who provided support with 16 points and seven rebounds, followed up the Brownlee triple with a layup to reestablish a double-digit advantage with less than five minutes left.
Baskets from Brownlee, Chris Newsome and Japeth Aguilar in the ensuing possession would then keep Thailand at bay even with the repeated efforts from Frederick Lish and Tyler Lamb for Thailand.
June Mar Fajardo chipped in nine points and six rebounds while Scottie Thompson was finally back to his old, efficient ways, putting up seven points, eight rebounds and nine assists.
Lamb, as expected, paced Thailand with 29 points built on six triples – half of which he nailed in the opening frame where the Thais caught Gilas off-guard with their hot shooting.
Thailand even took a 10 point lead early on, 22-12, before the Filipinos finally got their bearings going with 15 unanswered points to take the driver’s seat. Gilas never let go of the lead from there – even stretching it to as many as 21 in the third quarter where the Filipinos erupted for 27 points against Thailand’s only 15.
Lish added 22 points after spearheading Thailand’s comeback efforts in the second half but was not enough to prevent his team from falling to a 0-2 record in the standings.
Thailand is now in a must-win game against Bahrain to at least finish within the top 3 and get a spot in the qualification for the quarterfinals.
Gilas, meanwhile, tries to go for a sweep in the group stage against fellow Asian powerhouse and still unbeaten Jordan in the last group stage match. The winner of the marquee showdown will earn the top seed of the group and the outright quarterfinals berth.
