Gilas suffers heartbreak as Brownlee-led comeback falls short vs Jordan

BOCAUE – Gilas Pilipinas poured it all out but still couldn’t escape the agony of defeat right on its home turf.

Justin Brownlee and the rest of the nationals couldn’t complete its spirited comeback from 25 points down as Jordan escaped with a pulsating 91-90 decision to end the sixth and final window of the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers at the Philippine Arena here Monday, Feb. 27.

Brownlee exploded for 29 of his game-high 41 points in the second half as he tried to carry the hope of the Filipinos on his back but proved to be not enough as Gilas faltered in the end game, allowing the Falcons to come away with victory in the frantic finish to the tight contest.

Down by just one in the final minute, 90-91, Scottie Thompson botched two crucial free throws that could have shoved Gilas back to the driver's seat with 31.3 seconds left. 

Even after the huge free throw misses from the usually calm and collected Thompson, the home team still had the chance in the final 10 seconds after completing a huge stop on the defensive end but Ray Parks also went too strong on his last-second heave at the buzzer.

Brownlee added 12 rebounds, three assists and a block to lead the Philippines. Jamie Malonzo was the only other double-digit scorer with 11 while Thompson and Jordan Heading finished with nine apiece.

Gilas, however, struggled defensively as it couldn’t put the clamps down on Dar Tucker and Freddy Ibrahim who provided a deadly one-two punch for Jordan. Tucker topscored the visiting team with 22 points while Ibrahim added 17.

Ibrahim, at one point in the first half, was in the middle of the blistering start from Jordan which quickly seized a huge 41-16 lead early in the second quarter. Jordan took a 60-41 lead at the half as the team, which struggled against Gilas in their first meeting last window with only three triples for the entire game. This time, the visitors waxed hot with 12 three-point connections in the first two quarters alone.

Gilas, though, refused to go down without a fight as the Ginebra duo Brownlee and Thompson engineered a scorching third quarter for the Filipinos where they outscored the Jordanians, 23-10, to cut the deficit to just six, 74-80, heading into the final frame.