MANILA – Justin Brownlee caught fire in the endgame and Gilas Pilipinas dethroned Indonesia, 84-76, in the semifinals match of the 32nd Southeast Asian Games men’s basketball last night at the Morodok Techno Stadium in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Down 74-70 with over four minutes left, Brownlee unloaded back-to-back triples to give Gilas Pilipinas a 76-74 lead before Brownlee and Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser scored two more layups to widen the lead to 80-74.
With Indonesia misfiring with their shots, Gilas Pilipinas put on the finishing touches to the come-from-behind win with two free throws each from Chris Newsome and Brownlee for their largest lead of 84-74 with 47 seconds left.
Brownlee finished the game with 34 points, with 15 coming in the fourth quarter, to go with nine rebounds and five assists as Gilas Pilipinas set up a gold medal match with American players-led Cambodia this afternoon.
Ganuelas-Rosser chipped in 13 markers, Arvin Tolentino finished with 10 markers with two three-point connections, while Marcio Lassiter and Jerom Lastimosa ended with nine each for Gilas Pilipinas.
Lester Prosper, who plays as import for Terrafirma Dyip in the PBA, led the dethroned gold medalist Indonesia with 26 points and nine rebounds, while Jerome Beane Jr. added 12 markers.
Meanwhile, Gilas Pilipinas women survived a fourth quarter uprising by Malaysia to score a 77-63 victory and secure the silver medal at the close of women’s basketball competition.
The Philippine team were in control of the driver’s seat from the opening quarter as the lead reached as high as 22 points before Malaysia cut it down to 69-58 midway in the fourth quarter.
But the Gilas Pilipinas women responded with a 6-0 scoring blast, capped by a three-pointer from Khate Castillo, to establish a 75-58 advantage with two minutes left in the contest.
Janine Pontejos led the way with 24 points, with 12 coming in the first quarter, while Castillo contributed 18 markers for Gilas Pilipinas women, which ended at second place with 5-1 slate behind gold medal winner Indonesia (6-0).
BOX SCORE:
PHILIPPINES 84 – Brownlee 34, Ganuelas-Rosser 13, Tolentino 10, Lastimosa 9, Lassiter 9, Newsome 4, Ross 2, Perez 2, Standhardinger 1, Phillips 0.
INDONESIA 76 – Prosper 26, Beane 12, Dhyaksa 9, Diagne 9, Jawato 8, Gemilang 6, Kokodiputra 3, Kosasih 2, Saputra 1, Noor 0, Teja 0.
Quarterscores: 20-24, 38-45, 60-65, 84-76./PN
