BY REY C. LACHICA
HANGZHOU, China – NBA Hall of Famer and Chinese basketball executive Yao Ming was flashed on a giant screen late in the first half, smiling broadly.
But that smile disappeared and turned sour towards the end of the game as Gilas Pilipinas put together a massive comeback from a huge 20-point deficit to compete a miraculous 77-76 win and advance to the gold medal round for the first time in 33 years in the 19th Asian Games at the HOC Gymnasium Tuesday, Oct. 4, here.
“It was quite a miraculous win by us, I don’t know how to describe the way Justine (Brownlee) was making those big shots,” said Gilas head coach Tim Cone, proud holder of 27 PBA titles back home
Brownlee was unstoppable in the payoff period with three triples on the way to finishing with 33 points, just three points shy in the team’s 84-83 win over Iran in the quarterfinals.
The Nationals go for the gold against Jordan on Friday at 8 p.m. Bannered by Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, the Jordanians beat Gilas, 87-62, on Saturday.
But this win was extra sweet. Unbelievable.
That’s because they were extra hot in the fourth after outscoring the Chinese 27-14, in huge win that saw Cone unable to hold his emotions and cry unabashedly.
This time, it was for moment of joy, unlike during the 1998 edition when they lost heavily to the Chinese and Koreans.
Cone continued to shower Brownlee with glowing words, saying his gutsy import has been doing those great stuff for Ginebra the past seven years.
“I am proud of my players, I am proud of what they did, they did not give up,” said Cone.
A crippling 10-0 run gave the Chinese an imposing 46-26 advantage late in the second quarter before the Nationals made their move bit by bit.
Still down 69-62, Kevin Alas, who was a disappointment in the team’s thrilling 84-83 win over Iran on Monday, buried a triple then followed it up with a driving layup to to close in on 67-71.
A booming triple by Du Runwan somehow restored order for the Chinese before Brownlee put on a blazing finish, coming through with back-to-back triples.
First, a step-back triple that pushed Gilas to within two, 76-74, and the second, — the deadliest for the day – an off the dribble pullup trey from the left flank that saw him smartly defy the outstretched hands of two Chinese defenders with barely 23 ticks left.
The Chinese then called for a time out, hoping to come up with a winning play. They failed as the Nationals put up a solid defensive alignment that forced Zhenlin Xhang to launch a make or break shot that cruelly went out of the ring.
CJ Perez grabbed the rebound with barely two seconds away to give Gilas its second straight win against the Chinese since the World Cup.
The Nationals are hoping to end an agonizing wait of 61 years since the last PH team then backstopped by Caloy Loyzaga, Roehl Nadurata, and Kurt Bachmann.
