Photo credit: FIBA | fiba.basketball
World No. 38 & Asia's No. 8, Gilas Pilipinas Men (2-0), dominate the World No.78 & Asia's No.16 Chinese Taipei (0-2), with a resounding 106-53 victory to sweep the first window of the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers on Sunday, February 25, 2024 in front of a sold-out crowd at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City. [VIDEO]
Justin Brownlee and Kai Sotto spearheaded Gilas with a double-double finish. Brownlee secured a game-high 26 points on 11-of-18 shooting, with 13 rebounds, five assists, one steal, and 2 blocks. Meanwhile, Kai contributed 18 points (6/10 FG, 6/7 FT), 10 rebounds, five assists, and three blocks.
The Philippines finished the first quarter in the lead at 26-13, expanding their advantage to a 30-point lead by halftime, with a score of 52-27. In the third quarter, Gilas orchestrated a 30-14 run, establishing a commanding 82-41 lead. The game wrapped up with a fourth-quarter demolition of Taipei, outscoring them 24-12.
Gilas shot 55% from the field (43/78fg), including 7-of-16 shooting from beyond the arc. Taipei had 21 out of 71 field goals and made 10 out of 41 attempts from three-point range. Gilas went 13 out of 13 from the free-throw line, while Taipei made 1 out of 2 free throws. The Philippines outrebounded Taipei, 57-29, Gilas with more assists (30-11), steals (10-8), blocks (8-1), and had fewer turnovers (10-16).
In an outstanding display of dominance, Gilas outscored Taipei in points in the paint (64-12), points from turnovers (20-2), fastbreak points (19-5), second chance points (16-6), and points from the bench (35-17).
"I really like the way we worked tonight. We just really worked hard on both sides of the floor and did that throughout the whole game. I think we have to remember that Chinese Taipei played a top-20 team just three days ago, and they played them all the way to the end. We played the same team and these guys just worked their tails off and made them look bad and they're not that bad. They're a really talented team. Impressed with the way we continued to work and defend them and gave them a hard time." coach Tim Cone said in the post-game press conference.
(to be updated..)
The Tim Cone-mentored Gilas Pilipinas will return to action in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament (FIBA OQT 2024) on July 3, 2024 against hosts and world No. 8 Latvia, they will then face world No. 23 Georgia on July 4, 2024, with both games scheduled at the Arena Riga in Latvia.
Additionally, Gilas will also make a comeback in the second window of the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers. They are set to compete against New Zealand on November 21, 2024, and Hong Kong on November 24, 2024.
The Scores:
PHILIPPINES 106 - Brownlee 26, Sotto 18, Oftana 13, Ramos 12, Tamayo 11, Quiambao 10, Aguilar 7, Perez 4, Thompson 2, Newsome 2, Malonzo DNP.
CHINESE TAIPEI 53 - Liu 13, S. Lin 8, Wang 6, H. Hsieh 6, Chang 4, C. Lin 3, B. Lin 3, Chen 2, Gao 2, Yu 2, Y. Hsieh 2, Cheng Lin 2.
Quarters: 26-13, 52-27, 82-41, 106-53. [GAME STATS] | [GAME HIGHLIGHTS] | [JORDAN]
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