Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Tiebreaker Times
(c) POC-PSC Media Group

19th Asian Games

Brownlee further adds to lore, tows Gilas to first Asiad Final in 33 years


Justin Brownlee turned in another performance to remember as he willed Gilas Pilipinas to a dramatic come-from-behind 77-76 victory over China to reach the 19th Asian Games men’s basketball final, Wednesday night.

The naturalized forward finished with 33 points, 17 of which he made in the fourth quarter alone that included the go-ahead triple with 23.3 seconds left to put them up after being down by as many as 20 points early in the third.

A miss by Zhang Zhenlin on the other end sealed the result for the Filipino dribblers, who then erupted in jubilation for all the home crowd that filled up the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre Gymnasium to witness.

By completing the fightback, the Philippines will be making its way back to the Asiad finale after 33 long years, or since a PBA select team settled for a silver-medal finish to the Chinese in the 1990 competitions in Beijing.

They will be battling Jordan for the gold medal on Friday at 8 p.m., with Gilas hungry for payback after being mauled by Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and the Falcons, 87-62, during their group phase encounter just last Saturday.

Surely, Brownlee will be a marked man in the highly-anticipated title bout, especially after yet another sterling showing that stunned the hosts.

Barely 24 hours after dropping 36 to beat Iran in the quarters, the 35-year-old had to put up another Herculean effort against China particularly in the second half, where he scored 27 of his output to lead the crawl back.

He played for a total of 39 minutes and 51 seconds, yet he still shot an efficient 57-percent from the floor. That included a 7-of-12 clip from beyond the arc, five of which he nailed in the final chapter alone.

#ReadMore  Baser Amer understands Evan Nelle's decision to transfer to La Salle

Brownlee scored Gilas’ last eight points to provide the finishing touches of their 10-0 run to end the game after trailing, 76-67, with 3:07 left.

Providing support for the resident Ginebra import was long-time teammate Scottie Thompson, who supplied 13 points, eight rebounds, and three assists.

June Mar Fajardo and CJ Perez scored eight points apiece as the San Miguel tandem helped out in the third-quarter attack that trimmed what was once a 52-32 deficit to just 12, 62-50, entering the final 10 minutes.

Kevin Alas only made five points but those were crucial buckets as it enabled Gilas to cut the gap to just four twice in the fourth. His rim pressure was indeed huge as it opened things up for his side in the eventual comeback.

Leading China, on the other hand, was Zhao Rui, who finished with 18 points, five rebounds, six assists, and two steals in the meltdown.

Hu Mingxuan, Zhu Junlong, and Wang Zhelin added 10 points apiece for Team Dragon, who failed to protect the throne they conquered in 2018.

The best they could win now is a bronze, which they’ll try to accomplish against Chinese Taipei on Friday as well.

The Scores:

Philippines 77 – Brownlee 33, Thompson 13, Fajardo 8, Perez 8, Alas 5, Newsome 4, Oftana 4, Kouame 2, Ross 0, Lassiter 0, Aguilar 0.

China 76 – Zhao R. 18, Hu M. 10, Zhu 10, Wang 10, Zhao J. 9, Hu J. 8, Du 6, Zhang 4, Cui 1, Cheng 0.

Quarterscores: 17-19, 30-48, 50-62, 77-76

Written By

Oftentimes on the sidelines. Forever a student of the game. Morayta-bred.


You May Also Like

Basketball

Blackwater laid its four-game losing slide to rest after catching a big fish in San Miguel by netting a gritty 126-120 decision in the...

Basketball

ANTIPOLO — Bennie Boatwright feels excited to begin his naturalization process now that he’s back in Manila to reinforce San Miguel in the PBA...

Basketball

ANTIPOLO — Bennie Boatwright was simply the difference as San Miguel hacked out a 98-94 decision against the erstwhile streaking NLEX to get back...

Basketball

Ginebra rolled to its third win in a row in the PBA Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup by adding to the woes of a free-falling...

Basketball

TNT and Ginebra will look to sustain momentum when they take on different foes in the PBA Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup on Saturday in...

Basketball

L-Jay Gonzales knocked down arguably the most memorable shot of his young career to lift NLEX past Meralco in an overtime classic, 104-101, for...

Basketball

Justin Brownlee was all praises for James Dickey III as the close pals finally faced off when Barangay Ginebra and Phoenix locked horns on...

Basketball

Ginebra pulled away in the fourth quarter to add to Phoenix’s struggles, 109-96, and post back-to-back wins for the first time in the PBA...

Advertisement