KEVIN Quiambao provided a bright spot for the Gilas Pilipinas after the foul-troubled national men’s team fell in an 87-95 setback to Chinese Taipei on Wednesday morning.
Quiambao, filling in for the foul-shackled Justin Brownlee, struck with 17 points, putting up 10 straight points during a crucial moment of their losing encounter at the start of their 2025 FIBA Asia Cup campaign at the King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
“He (Quiambao) came out. He came out with a lot of energy and took some big shots. But still we came up short,” said Gilas coach Tim Cone in the post-game presser.
The 6”5’ Quiambao, a Goyang Sono Skygunners import in the Korean Basketball League, struck with 13 points in the final frame, with his jumper in the final 57.3 seconds, allowing Gilas stay within range, 83-90.
Brownlee left the court on five fouls in the last 4:51 and Team Philippines struggled to catch up after trimming the Taiwanese cagers lead down to six points.
“We were playing from our heel. We were trying to rush back into the game, and took a lot of ill-advised shots, ill-advised fouls. But, in terms of how Kevin played, Kevin played very, very well,” added Cone.
Ying Chun Chen showed the way for Chinese Taipei with 34 points, with his two charities in the last 3:49 giving them an 11-point, 85-74 edge in the last quarter.
Brownlee, who led with 19 points and seven boards, left the court after Gilas came within 74-80 in the final 4:31.
“Really hurt by the loss, but we’ll see what we can do. We have to bounce back from this and move forward. That’s the only thing we can do at this point,” said Cone.
The Philippines fell to the bottom of Group D next to Iraq, which took 78-100 loss to New Zealand in their opener.
Gilas will try pick up the pieces in their crucial clash with a dangerous New Zealand Tall Blacks on Thursday evening at 11 p.m. (Philippine time).
Scottie Thompson added 16 points for the Philippines.
