Newly-naturalized player Justin Brownlee may have topscored Gilas Pilipinas in their 107-96 win against Lebanon in the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers on Friday, but he had help—a lot of it.
Behind Brownlee’s 17, Jamie Malonzo and Mason Amos were right there, scoring 15 points and 13 points, respectively.
The agile Malonzo, like a Swiss Army knife, was all over the floor and went beyond scoring buckets. He had 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks, and a steal. No wonder he notched a team-high plus/minus of +15.
The 18-year-old Amos, who was making his debut on the seniors' national team, impressed with his shooting touch. His first shot was a three-pointer that hit the front rim—but the kind shooter’s bounce led it right into the basket. He didn’t miss all night, making all of his five attempts.
They did that despite playing outside their natural positions. The 6-foot-6 Malonzo is a high-flying wing, while the 6-foot-7 Amos is more of a sweet-shooting forward than a bruising big man.
But with Japeth Aguilar and Kai Sotto out, somebody had to step up into the big man roles. “After June Mar (Fajardo) and Justin (Brownlee), basically, it was only Mason and Jamie that we had,” said coach Chot Reyes.
The Gilas Pilipinas bench scored 58 points, a key ingredient of the potent offense that secured them the win. Coach Chot says Malonzo and Amos were a significant part of that.
“The fact that they both played well is a big factor. The bench gave us a spark,” the veteran mentor said. “The way the two of them played was a reflection of how well the second unit delivered,” Reyes added.
Both Malonzo and Amos say they were just trying to play the right way.
“I just wanted to go out there and play the hardest I could for the country. That’s what I did and it was fun for sure,” said Malonzo.
“Just [bringing] energy, coming in off the bench,” said Amos when asked about the game.
They indeed played well, and fans loved seeing it, but Reyes says there’s still room for improvement.
“Very good performance on the offensive end, however, there’s still a lot left to be desired in our defense. We gave up almost 100 points to a team without [Wael] Arakji, [Ali] Haidar and even their naturalized player [Jonathan Arledge].”
Malonzo, Amos, and the rest of Gilas will try to play better defense in its final game in the sixth window on Monday, when they face Jordan.