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Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Basketball devider Justin Brownlee saves the day as Gilas survives Saudi Arabia in OT thriller

Justin Brownlee saves the day as Gilas survives Saudi Arabia in OT thriller

Published Aug 12, 2025 02:39 am

At A Glance

  • Justin Brownlee came through with the game-tying triple in regulation as Gilas Pilipinas pulled away in overtime to take down a tough Saudi Arabia team, 95-88, and advance to the quarterfinals of the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup at King Abdullah Sports City in the wee hours of Tuesday, Aug. 12.
Justin Brownlee saves Gilas Pilipinas anew. (FIBA)
Justin Brownlee saves Gilas Pilipinas anew. (FIBA)
When the going gets tough, the tough gets going.
Justin Brownlee came through with the game-tying triple in regulation as Gilas Pilipinas pulled away in overtime to take down a tough Saudi Arabia team, 95-88, and advance to the quarterfinals of the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup at King Abdullah Sports City in the wee hours of Tuesday, Aug. 12.
Just like what he usually does – be it for Ginebra or Gilas – Brownlee rose to the occasion and showed nerves of steel to knock down a well-defended triple to tie the game at 79-all with 3.7 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
Things were actually looking bleak for the Nationals before that shot as Gilas was staring at a 77-71 disadvantage with 1:33 left. Brownlee, however, pumped life to the Nationals' flickering hopes, anchoring an 8-2 finishing kick to force the overtime.
And that was all Gilas needed as Kevin Quiambao, Dwight Ramos and AJ Edu picked up the slack and put on the finishing touches in the extra period to set up a quarterfinals dance against the two-time defending champion Australia.
Brownlee sizzled with 29 points built on three triples to go with his four rebounds and five assists. Edu also stepped up big time with a double-double of 17 points and 11 rebounds – including the dagger triple that put Gilas up ahead by nine, 93-84 with 57 ticks left in the game.
Quiambao had six of his 17 points in the overtime while Ramos chipped in 13 points and 10 rebounds for a Gilas team that missed the services of Calvin Oftana, and then later on, CJ Perez due to injuries.
For the first time in the tournament, Gilas finally had a solid start to the contest, taking a 25-15 lead at the end of the opening frame.
That, however, easily vanished in the face of the hot-shooting Saudis led by Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman, who exploded for 33 points spiked by eight triples.
He joined hands with 6-foot-10 center Mohammed Alsuwailem, who added 26 points and 14 rebounds. The two exclusively kept the host in the game and even gave it a six point lead in the last two minutes.
A combination of Gilas tighter defense and probably exhaustion, the two were contained in the overtime period as Saudi Arabia seemingly ran out of gas in the waning minutes.

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Gilas Pilipinas FIBA Asia Cup
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