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Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Basketball devider Brownlee regains touch but Gilas still falls to hot-shooting Australia

Brownlee regains touch but Gilas still falls to hot-shooting Australia

Published Mar 1, 2026 09:24 pm

At A Glance

  • A big bounce back game from Justin Brownlee was still not enough as Gilas Pilipinas found the visiting Australia too hot to handle, dropping a 93-66 decision to end the second window of the FIBA 2027 World Cup Asian Qualifiers winless at the Mall of Asia Arena on Sunday, March 1.
A big bounce back game from Justin Brownlee was still not enough as Gilas Pilipinas found the visiting Australia too hot to handle, dropping a 93-66 decision to end the second window of the FIBA 2027 World Cup Asian Qualifiers winless at the Mall of Asia Arena on Sunday, March 1.
The Nationals held their ground through the first half but the Boomers pulled away in the second half behind the sizzling performance from Elijah Pepper to keep their record pristine in the qualifiers.
Pepper exploded for 28 points built on five triples to open the floodgates for the Aussies who only held a slim 38-33 lead at the half.
Brownlee rediscovered his shooting touch and fired 20 points to go with eight rebounds and seven assists to bounce back from a dismal four-point showing in the loss to New Zealand
Quentin Millora-Brown also made a good account of himself with 11 points and five rebounds.
The Nationals however collapsed particularly on the defensive end, allowing Australia to erupt for 55 points in the final 20 minutes — something that Gilas couldn’t really match behind their spotty shooting that only generated 13 in the final frame.
On the other side, three other Boomers finished in double figures with Tanner Krebs firing 18 points while Mitch Creek and Tom Wilson added 13 and 12, respectively.
Despite the back-to-back loss that dragged the team to a 2-2 record, Gilas advanced to the second round after New Zealand defeated Guam earlier in the day.
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