Gilas Pilipinas suffered its first loss in the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers on Thursday, falling to Chinese Taipei, 91-84, at the Taipei Heping Basketball Gymnasium.
The defeat marked the first time the Philippines lost to a Taiwanese squad in 12 years.
Justin Brownlee delivered an impressive performance, tallying 39 points on an 8-of-11 shooting clip from beyond the arc. He also added six rebounds and eight assists for Gilas. Dwight Ramos contributed 15 points and five rebounds, while AJ Edu, filling in for the injured Kai Sotto, posted 10 points, six boards, and two assists.
“I thought the Chinese Taipei team was very impressive. We made a couple of runs at them, hoping they would crack, but they never did. They kept their composure and kept making big shots,” said Gilas head coach Tim Cone.
Chinese Taipei, which built a lead as large as 13 points during the game, saw their advantage dwindle late in the fourth quarter. Justin Brownlee’s clutch three-pointer at the 3:50 mark gave Gilas an 80-79 lead.
However, Ting-Chien Lin, who scored 21 points for Chinese Taipei, answered back with a triple to reclaim the lead, 84-82.
After AJ Edu hit a jumper to pull Gilas within two, 86-84, with 2:16 remaining, Brownlee committed a costly turnover off a bad pass. Chinese Taipei capitalized, with Chun Hsiang Lu draining a crucial three-pointer to extend their lead to 89-84 with just 49 seconds left.
“Everything we prepared for paid off. First of all, we faced a strong team. We were ready to compete and took a significant step forward,” said Chinese Taipei head coach Gianluca Tucci, an Italian tactician.
Mohammad Al Bachir Gadiaga also shone for Chinese Taipei, matching Lin’s output with 21 points to secure the victory.