Photo credit: Pilipinas Live | Hangzhou Asian Games
Gilas Pilipinas Men survived a late rally by Iran, winning 84-83 in the knockout quarterfinal of the 2023 Asian Games Men's Basketball 5x5 event on Tuesday, October 3, at the Zhejiang University Zijingang Gymnasium. [VIDEO]
Justin Brownlee led Gilas to a historic win with 36 points on 12-of-21 shooting from the field, including 5-of-7 from beyond the arc, and 7-of-8 from the free throw line. He also contributed 8 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals in 36 minutes of play.
This victory marks a historic moment as the Philippines reaches the men's basketball semifinals for the first time since the 2002 Asian Games in Busan, South Korea.
Gilas shot 50% from the field (32/64fg), including 8-of-20 shooting from beyond the arc. Iran had 32 out of 73 field goals and made 12 out of 32 attempts from three-point range. Gilas went 12 out of 17 from the free-throw line, while the Iran made 7 out of 13 free throws. The Philippines outrebounded Iran, 46-37; however, Gilas had more turnovers (16-11), while Iran recorded more assists (18-17) and steals (14-9).
Gilas Pilipinas advances to the semifinals against the defending champions China on Wednesday, October 4, at 8:00PM.
The scores:
PHILIPPINES 84 - Brownlee 36, Fajardo 18, Thompson 11, Oftana 7, Perez 6, Kouame 4, Newsome 2, Alas 0, Tolentino 0, Aguilar 0, Lassiter DNP, Ross DNP.
IRAN 83 - Vahedi 24, Rezaeifar 14, Mirzaeitalarposhti 12, Aghajanpour 11, Girgoorian 8, Mashayekhi 6, Kazemi 6, Pazirofteh 2, Shahrian 0, Gholizadeh 0, Torabi 0, Aliakbari DNP.
Quarters: 28-22, 48-36, 71-54, 84-83. [VIDEO] | [STATS]