BOCAUE - Gilas Pilipinas rallied back from 25 points down that just fell short in the end as Jordan held steadied for a thrilling 91-90 win in the final game of the FIBA World Cup Asian qualifiers Monday night.
The Filipinos rode on the shoulders of naturalized player Justin Brownlee to mount the comeback from a 41-16 deficit in the first half and threatened the visitors going to the homestretch of the game played before a crowd of more than 5,000 at the Philippine Arena.
The beloved Barangay Ginebra import scored the last of his game-high 41 points with a minute and 23 seconds left to play that put Gilas within 91-90.
But the host just couldn't get the needed breaks as Scottie Thompson flubbed two free throws in the final 31 seconds, and Ray Parks failed to convert the possible game-winner at the buzzer.
Despite the team's first loss in the last five games, coach Chot Reyes lauded the effort of the Filipinos by making a fight out of it in the face of their poor first half shooting that had the team just making 37 percent of their shots.
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"Credit to our guys, we didn't give up. Twenty, twenty five points down, and we still clawed back and gave ourselves the chance to win the game," he said.
The huge deficit, according to Reyes, was just too much for Gilas to overcome, no thanks to Jordan's hot shooting start where it made 12-of-24 from beyond the arc.
"It was a nightmare start for us. Credit to Jordan, they came out very sharp, very good game plan," said the national coach. "They prepared for us really well and you saw that with the score in the first half.
Dar Tucker, Freddie Ibrahim, and Sami Bzai were responsible for Jordan coming sizzling out of the gates as they combined for seven of the Jordanians' seven three pointers in the first two periods to sit at a 60-41 lead at the break.
Tucker finished with 22 points and 12 rebounds, while Ibrahim added 19 and eight assists in Jordan's second straight win in the sixth window to finish its campaign for the entire qualifiers with a 6-4 record in Group E.
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Brownlee had 12 rebounds and three assists, while shooting 5-of-7 from three-point range as he caught fire in the third period with 17 points to keep the Philippines afloat.
Jamie Malonzo was the other Gilas player to finish in double figures with 11 points and five rebounds, while Thompson had nine points, seven rebounds, and seven assists, and Parks with eight and four boards.
The Philippines finished third in Group E also with a 6-4 record behind topnotcher New Zealand (8-2) and Lebanon (7-3). (RG)
The scores
Jordan (91) - Tucker 22, Ibrahim 19, Z Abbas 10, Bzai 9, Abu Hawwas 8, Alhamarsheh 8, Alhendi 6, Hussein 5, H Abbas 2, Alnajdawi 2.
Philippines (90) - Brownlee, 41, Malonzo 11, Heading 9, Thompson 9, Parks 8, Ramos 7, Perez 4, Fajardo 1, K. Ravena 0, Amos 0.
Quarterscores: 33-14; 60-41; 70-64; 91-90.
