By REYNALD MAGALLON
Justin Brownlee pulled out every trick in his bag to blow by his initial defender, only to be greeted by the swarming defense of Brazil.
He then stumbled, fell, and turned the ball over.
That was just the kind of second half for Gilas Pilipinas as the clock struck midnight to the Filipinos’ dream run, falling into the hands of world No.12 Brazil, 71-60, in the semifinals of the FIBA Olympic Qualifying tournament at the Riga Arena on Saturday, July 6.
A disastrous third quarter spelled doom for the Filipinos, mustering a measly six points against the defense of Brazil which, on the other hand, torched the net with 24 to establish a double-digit lead it never relinquished until the final horn.
The nightmarish second half for Gilas dashed away all the smiles to the faces of the Filipino fans who were once hopeful of finally seeing the Nationals march back to the Olympics after 52 years.
Brownlee was a marked man as, after scoring 12 points in the first half, was limited to just three the rest of the way to finish with 15 to go along with his eight rebounds. Dwight Ramos added 13 points for the Nationals while June Mar Fajardo and CJ Perez added 10 apiece in the losing effort.
Bruno Caboclo had 15 points while Marcelinho Huertas added 13 – nine of which he timely dropped in the final frame to keep a rallying Gilas at bay.
Hopes of making it to the finals were actually high in the opening frame as Ramos and Brownlee conspired for 15 points during a searing start for Gilas that saw them build a lead as many as 12 points.
Gilas took a 10-point lead at the end of the first quarter but its offense since then slowed down while the shots finally started falling for Brazil to cut the deficit to just six at the break, 33-27.
As sharp as they were during the upset win over Latvia or in the second half of the comeback against Georgia, the Filipinos were as flat in the third frame with simply nothing going on their offense.
Their first point in the quarter came on a Fajardo tip-in with only 3:58 on the clock. Perez scored on a layup and Fajardo on a jumper in an effort to take something positive heading into the final frame only to be answered by a buzzer-beating putback from Brazil to take a 12-point lead.
Despite the loss, it was still an excellent run for Gilas which certainly overachieved after reaching the knockout stages when no one was actually expecting it.
The Filipinos ended a 64-year drought against European teams when it took down world No. 6 Latvia in its opening game. That also turned out to be Gilas lone win as it finished the tournament with an overall 1-2 record.
