All guts. All glory.
By his own high standards, Kevin Quiambao was having an off night for Gilas Pilipinas against Jordan on Friday. But that did not stop him from taking the biggest shot of the game.
Shooting 4-for-11 from the field and just 1-for-6 from deep, Quiambao still had the confidence to fire a three-pointer from the left wing with the game tied at 79 in overtime.
He had previously missed a trey from the same spot.
The next attempt? Nothing but net.
Quiambao’s triple gave Gilas the 82-79 lead with 11.7 seconds remaining.
The Philippines held on to beat Jordan, 82-81, in overtime, snapping a four-game skid in the 2027 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers before a packed SM Mall of Asia Arena.
“Pasa niya (CJ Perez) yun. Tinira ko lang. Pinapractice ko yung shots na yun pero off ako this game. It’s just all guts na lang,” said the 6-foot-4 forward.
“I mean rhythm shots na yun eh. Kumbaga nasa rhythm na ko to take that shot, just lucky it went in. Thankful ako kay Kuya CJ for making that pass.”
That three-pointer was Gilas’ lone conversion from deep in the second half, but it came at the perfect time as the Philippines improved to 3-4 in the qualifiers. Gilas is now just two games behind Iran, Jordan, and New Zealand, which have tied for second at 5-2.
Quiambao finished with 14 points and five rebounds, while Kai Sotto marked his return to the Philippine men’s national basketball team with 18 points and 14 rebounds.
CJ Perez also proved pivotal with 16 points and four rebounds, while Dwight Ramos contributed 14 points, five rebounds, and three assists.
AJ Edu added nine points and 10 rebounds.
The collective effort showed that the Philippines can still win at this stage despite the unfortunate absence of resident naturalized player Justin Brownlee, who believes that “he’s not that healthy yet” to return to action.
“Siyempre mas masaya kapag nandito si JB di ba? Pero ayun nga, all-Filipino, we just want to prove na kaya naming manalo sa aspect na ito,” said Quiambao, who plays for Goyang Sono in the Korean Basketball League.
A bigger test awaits Quiambao and the rest of Gilas Pilipinas on Sunday when they face Iran at 8:00 PM, still at the Pasay venue. The Iranians will be eager to bounce back after losing to New Zealand in overtime on Friday afternoon, 93-91.
“First of all, kailangan namin i-celebrate tonight yung panalo. Pero pagdating ng 12 o’clock mamaya, it’s just another day,” said Quiambao.
“Kailangan namin mag-prepare sa Iran and we know naman Iran, mas malakas sila on paper.”
