When the chips were down in its FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers duel against New Zealand, Gilas Pilipinas counted on Justin Brownlee. He did not disappoint.
Desperate to make up for an earlier blunder, Justin Brownlee made his way to the free throw line knowing history was on the line.
Brownlee sank both pressure-packed free throws with 11.1 ticks to go and Gilas Pilipinas hacked out a 93-89 win over New Zealand in the second window of the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay on Thursday, Nov. 21.
Gilas finally won for the first time against the Tall Blacks after losing all four previous meetings dating back from the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in 2016 at the same venue.
Justin Brownlee and the rest of Gilas Pilipinas take win No. 1 over New Zealand in the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers on Thursday, Nov. 21. | Photo (c) RM Chua/One Sports
The Philippines thus remained unbeaten for a solo hold of the top spot at 3-0 in Group B action while erstwhile co-leader New Zealand slid to second after absorbing its first loss in three tries.
“Our guys were pressured to win, and they found a way. I’m proud of them,” said Gilas head coach Tim Cone.
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Eager to bounce back from a stinging loss to TNT in the PBA Season 49 Governors’ Cup finale, Brownlee came through with 26 points and 11 rebounds he embellished with four assists, two steals and the same number of blocks for Gilas.
Before those crucial freebies at the finish, the naturalized Filipino botched a pair of shots from the charity stripe that led to a Tom Vodanovich triple for the Tall Blacks. This allowed New Zealand to threaten within two, 89-91.
But there’s no way Brownlee was letting the Filipino fans down when he had another chance to win the game with those two free throws.
“They were physical on Justin. They rotated two or three guys on him all game long,” said Cone.
Before Brownlee’s heroics at endgame, Gilas shifted into high gear in the third period where it outscored the Tall Blacks, 27-18.
At one point, the Filipino dribblers even led 72-60 on a spirited run highlighted by five straight points from Kai Sotto.
Sotto also had his best game yet in a Gilas uniform, putting up 19 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists, a steal and two blocks.
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Scottie Thompson contributed 12 points, four rebounds and six assists, while Dwight Ramos added 11 points, six rebounds and four assists.
Saddled by foul trouble, Chris Newsome still chipped in 11 points, none bigger than the dagger of a three-pointer at the 1:09 mark that gave Gilas Pilipinas a 91-84 spread.
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Meanwhile, Corey Webster paced New Zealand with 25 points but just could not get his squad over the hump in the final minutes. He also had five assists.
Former Converge import Vodanovich added 19 points and three rebounds.