Gilas Pilipinas extend the Philippines' 52-year wait for a return to the Olympic basketball stage after failing to advance to the finals of the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament.
Gilas Pilipinas saw an end to its Paris 2024 campaign as it went powerless against a third quarter assault from world No. 12 Brazil to eventually surrender a 71-60 decision in the semifinals in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament at the Arena Riga on Saturday.
Justin Brownlee and Dwight Ramos led the early charge for the Nationals as they posted leads of as many as 12 points in the first half. But Brazil, led by players boasting of NBA experience, regrouped in the third as it dropped a 24-6 bomb and never looked back to claim its spot in the finals.
Former Toronto Raptor Bruno Caboclo and Marcelino Huertas, who once donned the Los Angeles Lakers jersey, did most of the damage as Brazil hiked its flawless head-to-head record against the Philippines to 5-0 after previously collecting wins against the Philippines in the 1952 Olympics as well as in the 1954 and 1978 FIBA World Championships.
Caboclo sparked a 14-0 Brazil counterattack to open the third, turning a 27-33 halftime deficit to a 41-33 advantage. Gilas was finally able to check its scoreless spell at the 3:58 mark of the frame on a June Mar Fajardo tip-in, but the Nationals played catch-up from there.
The Philippines was eyeing to move closer to a return trip to the Olympic basketball stage since the 1972 Munich Games, but found another hurdle in an already uphill battle as Kai Sotto was sidelined due to a rib injury he sustained the previous match against Georgia.
Justin Brownlee, tagged as the "Michael Jordan of Philippine basketball" by Sotto, could not conjure the same magic this time after being held to 15 points he topped with eight rebounds, two assists, a steal, and a block.
He averaged near triple-double numbers of 27 points, 8.5 rebounds and 8.5 assists in Gilas' first two matches in Group A play against world No. 6 Latvia and 23rd-ranked Georgia.
Dwight Ramos scored 13, including eight in the opening period where Gilas led by 22-12. Fajardo finished with a double-double of 10 points and 11 rebounds while CJ Perez also had 10 markers.
Caboclo put up a double-double of 15 points and 11 rebounds while Marcelino Huertas finished with 13 points and seven assists.