MANILA – Gilas Pilipinas faltered in its comeback bid. It suffered a 91-90 loss to Jordan in the sixth and final window of the 2023 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers last night at the Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan.
After being down by as much as 25 points in the opening half, the Philippine team managed to claw back to within 90-91 with over a minute left via a conversion from Justin Brownlee.
Gilas had a chance to take the lead but Earl Scottie Thompson uncharacteristically missed his two free throws with 22 seconds left, while Bobby Ray Parks Jr. misfired at the buzzer.
Naturalized player Dar Tucker spearheaded the offense for Jordan with 22 points, Freddy Ibrahim and Zaid Abbas chipped in 19 and 10 markers, respectively.
Jordan were scorching since the opening quarter as they knocked down six three-point conversions to quickly create separation from Gilas Pilipinas at 33-14.
Jordan’s torrid shooting continued in the second period as the lead reached as high as 25 points but Brownlee came up with baskets late in the quarter to cut the deficit to 41-60 at the half.
Brownlee continued his offensive onslaught in the third quarter, where he exploded for 17 markers, as the Gilas Pilipinas trimmed Jordan’s lead further to 64-70.
Brownlee stayed hot at the onset of the fourth quarter and, with the help of Parks, Gilas Pilipinas were able to force a deadlock at 81-all and later at 88-all on a Jamie Malonzo dunk.
Jordan was able to catch a break with a technical free throw and a basket for a 91-88 advantage before Brownlee attacked the basket to cut the deficit to 90-91.
Brownlee finished with 41 points, including five three-point conversions, while Malonzo added 11 markers as the Gilas Pilipinas ended the qualifiers with 6-4 slate and will still move on to the World Cup proper./PN
BOX SCORE:
JORDAN 91 — Tucker 22, Ibrahim 19, Abbas 10, Bzai 9, Alhamarsheh 8, Hawwas 8, Alhendi 6, Hussein 5, Abbass 2, Alnajawi 2.
PHILIPPINES 90 — Brownlee 41, Malonzo 11, Thompson 9, Heading 9, Parks 8, Ramos 7, Perez 4, K. Ravena 0, Amos 0.
Quarterscores: 33-14, 60-41, 70-64, 91-90.
