GILAS Pilipinas went on a huge fourth quarter run to nip Qatar, 74-71, and kicked off its campaign in the 2nd Doha Invitational Cup on a rousing note at the Qatar University early Saturday morning.
Silent for three quarters, Justine Brownlee came to life in the final period and connived with Dwight Ramos and AJ Edu in a blistering finish that saw the national team rallied back from as much as an 11-point deficit.
Brownlee, held to just a single point in the first three quarters, scored nine in the pivotal fourth to turn the game around, his one-hand dunk off an Edu assist eventually giving Gilas the lead for good, 70-69.
Ramos finished with a team-high 15 points as he carried most of the brunt for the team early in the game, June Mar Fajardo added 12 points and seven rebounds, while with 10 points each were Brownlee and Scottie Thompson, whose two free throws in the final 16 seconds proved to be the marginal baskets for the visiting team.
The Qataris were left with one final play to send the game into overtime, but Mike Lewis II's attempt from the three-point arc failed to hit the mark at the buzzer.
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Big boys Kevin Quiambao and Edu also did well for Gilas with seven and six points, respectively.
Edu had a team-best 10 rebounds and provided the game's highlight reel play when he scored on a two-handed slam to cap seven straight unanswered points by the Filipinos who finally threaten at 66-65.
Gilas will try to make it two in a row in less than 24 hours as it returns to the court late Saturday night to take on Lebanon.
The Cedars earlier lost to Egypt, 82-70, as they played minus stalwarts Wael Arakji and naturalized player Omari Spellman.
The Pharaohs meanwhile, will face Qatar, who drew 17 points from Tyler Harris and 15 from Lewis in a heartbreaker against Gilas. (RG)
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The scores
Philippines (74) - Ramos 15, Fajardo 12, Brownlee 10, Thompson 10, Quiambao 7, Edu 6, Perez 6, Oftana 3, Tamayo 3, Newsome 2.
Qatar (71) - Harris 17, Lewis 15, Ndao 9, Fouda 9, Seydou 9, Abbsher 7, Saad 3, Magassa 2, Dieng 0, Grantham 0, Avdic 0.
Quarterscores: 18-20, 38-40, 51-50, 74-71.
