Photo credit: FIBA | fiba.basketball
World No.38 & Asia's No.8 Gilas Pilipinas Men used a strong third quarter to beat the World No.119 & Asia's No.26 hosts Hong Kong, 94-64 in their first game of the first window in the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers Group B on Thursday, February 22, 2024 at the 1,900-seater Tsuen Wan Stadium in Hong Kong. [VIDEO]
Justin Brownlee led Gilas with an all-around game of 16 points (6/12FG, 2/3 3pt), to go with 7 rebounds, seven assists, and three steals. Kai Sotto had a double-double of 13 points, a game-high 15 rebounds, one assist, and two blocks in 20 minutes of play. Kevin Quiambao had a solid fourth quarter to finished wth 15 points, 3 rebounds, two assists, and a steal while Jamie Malonzo added 11 points and 1 rebound. All 11 players scored for Gilas while June Mar Fajardo (calf injury) and AJ Edu (meniscus tear) have been ruled out for Window 1 due to injuries.
The Philippines started the game with a 9-0 lead and ended the first quarter leading 23-15. Hong Kong outscored Gilas 22-18 in the second quarter, narrowing their deficit to 4 points at the end of the first half, 41-37. In the third quarter, Gilas mounted a 30-9 run to build a commanding lead, ending the quarter ahead 71-46.
"Hong Kong China played a great first half and shocked us. We didn’t think that they would play as well as they did. No. 6 Leung and Xu and no. 10 yang really surprised us with their ability to shoot the ball and Yang to be able to get to the rim. We were quite surprised. I thought we came out a little tentative but in the second half I thought we were kinda relaxed a little bit, played better, defended better, and got on a little bit of a run. The crowd helped us gain some momentum." coach Tim Cone said after the game.
Gilas shot 47% from the field (37/79fg), including 9-of-25 shooting from beyond the arc. Hong Kong had 23 out of 70 field goals and made 10 out of 32 attempts from three-point range. Gilas went 11 out of 13 from the free-throw line, while Hong Kong made 8 out of 10 free throws. The Philippines outrebounded Hong Kong, 56-32, Gilas with more assists (33-12), steals (8-6), and blocks (4-2), while Hong Kong had fewer turnovers (11-13).
Gilas (1-0) will face next the Chinese Taipei national team (0-1) on Sunday, February 25 at 7:30pm at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City. [LIVE]. Chinese Taipei lost their first game earlier against New Zealand, 89-69.
The Scores:
PHILIPPINES 94 - Brownlee 16, Quiambao 15, Sotto 13, Malonzo 11, Ramos 9, Newsome 7, Aguilar 6, Oftana 5, Perez 5, Thompson 5, Tamayo 2.
HONG KONG 64 - Leung 15, Xu 13, Reid 12, Yeung 12, Yang 5, Tsoi 4, So 3, Hon 0, Liu 0, Tam 0, Wong 0, Chan 0.
Quarters: 23-15, 41-37, 71-46, 94-64. [GAME STATS] | [GAME HIGHLIGHTS] | [JORDAN]
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