Playing in front of the home crowd turned on a switch for Gilas Pilipinas, ending the first window of FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers with a wire-to-wire performance against Chinese Taipei, 106-53, and a 2-0 card.
Naturalized player Justin Brownlee led all scorers, turning in 26 points on 61 percent field goal shooting. He also contributed 13 rebounds, 5 assists, a steal and 2 blocks.
Gilas dished out a total 30 assists and combined for 57 rebounds, way better than Chinese Taipei’s 11 assists and 29 rebounds. Six of the 10 Gilas players who were fielded for the game scored in double digits.
“That’s what coach (Tim Cone) always preaches—sharing the ball, moving the ball, people movement, ball movement. That is something we have to hang our hats on, especially moving forward. We need to get everybody involved,” Brownlee told a television interview after the game held Sunday night at the Philippine Sports Arena.
Cone, the newly-installed Gilas head coach, said he was pleased with how the team is coming along—a squad he hopes to keep intact for the next four years.
“I really like the way we worked tonight,” Cone told an interview. “We just really worked hard on both sides of the floor and did that throughout the whole game,” he added.
In the other Group B game on Sunday, New Zealand drubbed Hong Kong, 88-49.
Also Sunday, Japan finally beat China after 88 years, eking out a 76-73 victory, while San Miguel player Jericho Cruz helped Guam post its first win in the FIBA Asia Qualifiers with a 74-63 triumph over Mongolia. South Korea ended the first window with the clean slate, beating Thailand, 96-62.
A total 24 teams from across the Asia Pacific region are competing for 16 slots in next year’s FIBA Asia Cup. The top two teams in each group will automatically qualify for next year’s championship, while those in third place will compete for the four remaining slots.
