ANTICIPATION is in the air as Gilas Pilipinas battles Australia in the quarterfinals of the FIBA Asia Cup at 7 p.m. on Wednesday (Manila time) — their first encounter on the basketball court since their infamous on-court melee on July 2, 2018 at the Philippine Arena in Bulacan.
That FIBA qualifier game finished with a brawl in the third period, with Gilas left with only three eligible players and with Australia ahead, 89-53.
For many Filipino basketball fans, the memory remains vivid, a reminder of the day when sportsmanship took a backseat.
But this is not the same Gilas team that was involved in the 2018 incident as only Japeth Aguilar and JuneMar Fajardo remain from that squad.
Gilas’ journey to the quarterfinals of the ongoing Asia Cup has been a proof of its resilience, bouncing back from initial losses against Chinese Taipei and New Zealand in the group stage, before securing a crucial win against Iraq, 66-57, and a hard-fought overtime 95-88 victory against host Saudi Arabia in the qualification round.
Cone’s primary weapons this time are Dwight Ramos, Kevin Quiambao, AJ Edu and naturalized Filipino Justin Brownlee, whose trey with 3 seconds left forced the overtime game against the Saudis.
“Kevin is not afraid of the moment. He will play on. He’s going to play the same way. He brings it on all the time,” said Cone.
In the game against Saudi, Quiambao hit 17 points, with his two treys in the extra five minutes allowing Gilas to move away from a 79-all regulation deadlock in the qualification and into the quarterfinals.
On the other side of the court, the Australian Boomers arrived in the quarterfinals as a dominant force.
Undefeated in Group A, they have showcased their superior size, athleticism, and disciplined style of play, dispatching Korea, Lebanon, and Qatar with relative ease. More importantly, the Australian team that will step onto the court will also be significantly different from the one involved in the 2018 incident, with no players from that roster participating in this Asia Cup.
For the Boomers, they will need to put the clamps on Brownlee, who looms as the biggest challenge in their defense with his average of 23.3 points, aside from Ramos, who is norming 17.3 points per game.
Jaylin Galloway was a standout performer for the Aussies in their three encounters, after averaging 18 points per game, while Reyne Smith and marquee player Jack McVeigh have both been lethal from beyond the arc.
