Gilas Pilipinas suffered its first defeat in the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers, falling to a revamped Chinese Taipei squad, 84-91, on Thursday night at the Taipei Heping Basketball Gymnasium.
The loss snapped their undefeated streak and sets the stage for a critical rematch against New Zealand on Sunday in Auckland, where the top spot in Group B—and a better position for the upcoming championship round in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia—will be on the line.
Chinese Taipei surged ahead from the tip-off, scoring the first five points of the game. Gilas quickly answered with Junemar Fajardo’s jumpshot, and Justin Brownlee kept the Philippines in the hunt during the first quarter. At the end of the first period, the hosts held a slim 22-20 lead.
Both teams traded baskets in the second quarter, scoring 25 points apiece, maintaining the tight contest into halftime. But in the third quarter, Chinese Taipei capitalized on a series of three-pointers from Mohammad Al Bachir Gadiaga, Lu Chun Hsiang, and Ma Chien-Hao to build a 10-point lead, 71-61, heading into the final frame. The hosts’ 3-point shooting was particularly lethal, sinking 15 of 43 attempts, while Gilas made 10 of 21.
In a tense fourth quarter, Gilas made a strong push and closed the gap to just two points, 84-86, with 55 seconds left. But a crucial missed shot by Brownlee, followed by a 3-pointer from Lu and a decisive block-and-dunk combo by Chinese Taipei’s Brandon Gilbeck, sealed the deal. Despite out-rebounding Chinese Taipei 43-36, the absence of 7-foot-3 Kai Sotto was felt, especially on defense, where Gilas registered only three blocks. Gilbeck owned 5 of the 6 blocks of Chinese Taipei.
This loss extends Gilas’ losing streak to three games, including defeats to Lebanon and Egypt in the Doha International Cup a few days earlier—marking their longest losing skid since Tim Coach led them to an Asian Games title in October 2023.
Brownlee led all scorers with 39 points.
The win, Chinese Taipei’s first against Gilas since 2013, kept the squad from Taiwan in contention for a slot in the Asia Cup championship in Jeddah scheduled in August.
