Gilas Pilipinas stayed true to its promise of collectively making up for the absence of Justin Brownlee.
The Philippines unleashed a balanced attack, with Cjay Perez, Kevin Quiambao, and Kai Sotto delivering the clutch baskets to upend Jordan, 82-81, in overtime for a much-needed victory to open Pool E of the 2027 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers on Friday at the jam-packed SM Mall of Asia Arena.
The victory also marked Gilas’ return to the win column after absorbing four straight losses to Oceanic powerhouses Australia and New Zealand in the final two windows of the first round, improving its record to 3-4 and moving to solo fifth in the group.
Jalen Harris’ jumper with 1:53 remaining in overtime put Jordan ahead, 78-74, but the Filipinos refused to fold.
After AJ Edu split his free throws, Perez followed with a fearless drive to the basket before Sotto’s putback off a missed Quiambao three-pointer put the Philippines ahead, 79-78, with 41.5 seconds remaining.
Harris then attacked the basket on the other end and drew a foul, but was hurt in the process, leaving Omar Salman with the responsibility of taking the free throws. Cold off the bench, Salman split his attempts to tie the game at 79 with 30.6 seconds left.
Quiambao, however, would not miss two consecutive three-pointers from the same spot, drilling the biggest trey of the game with 11.7 seconds remaining to give Gilas an 82-79 lead.
Sotto then used all of his 7-foot-3 frame to deny Abdullah Olajuwon’s potential game-winner in the dying seconds, preserving the thrilling Gilas victory.
The Philippines will next face 5-2 Iran on Sunday at 8 p.m., still at the MOA Arena.
Carl Tamayo, who was having a strong game with eight first-half points, left the contest with eight minutes remaining in the third quarter after hurting his left leg in a collision in the paint.
Meanwhile, Jordan dropped to 5-2, creating a three-way tie for second place with Iran and New Zealand.
