HIGHLIGHTS: Gilas Pilipinas vs Georgia Fiba OQT July 4

Gilas falls short vs Georgia, but still headed to Fiba OQT semis

Gilas Pilipinas overcame a horrendous start before settling for a 96-94 loss at the hands of Georgia and still locking a semifinal spot in the Fiba Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OTQ) in Riga, Latvia.

LIVE UPDATES: Gilas Pilipinas vs Georgia

By Celest Flores-Colina

Despite the loss, Gilas Pilipinas advances to the semifinals along with Latvia, which has earlier advanced to the knockout round.

4th QUARTER

• Gilas Pilipinas loses to Georgia, 96-94, but still comes out the winner as the Philippines is headed to the semifinals of the Fiba OQT!
• With the semifinals berth secured, Gilas Pilipinas walking off the final possession and not trying to extend it the game overtime. Chris Newsome is fouled and splits his freethrows.
• Georgia holding on to a 96-93 lead with 14.1 seconds left. Gilas has the next and likely final possession.
• Justin Brownlee shakes off his defender then goes for a tough shot off the glass! Gilas still behind 94-93.

•  Gilas is headed to the semifinals of the Fiba OQT win or lose against Georgia, but a win will push the country to the top spot of Group A.
• CJ Perez is heating up. He connects with a 3 from the right corner and Gilas is now just down 89-90 with 2:45 to play.

• CJ Perez with a 3! Gilas down 86-90 with 3:40 left.
• Georgia trying to make a run here with Duda Sanadze making a 3. CJ Perez answers with another layup. Gilas behind 83-88 with 4:33 to play.
• Georgia back in the lead 85-81 after 3 straight points from Alexander Mamukelashvili.  Coach Tim Cone calls starters June Mar Fajardo and Dwight Ramos back in.

• Georgia and Gilas trading baskets. Gilas back with the lead 81-80 after CJ Perez’s nifty drive with over seven minutes to play.
• Carl Tamayo all alone for the two. Gilas ties the game again at 78.
• Start of the 4th. Gilas will qualify if it beats Georgia, or if it loses by 18 or less. Georgia will qualify ONLY if it beats the Philippines by 19, according to Fiba.

3rd QUARTER

• Calvin Oftana beats the buzzer, but the basket won’t count after a review. Gilas and Georgia tied at 74.
• Justin Brownlee answers with a tough, highly-contested 3 from way out to tie the game again at 74. He has 24 so far with a quarter to play.
• Alexander Mamukelashvili gives Georgia the lead back with a 3 with over a minute to play before the fourth.
• Gilas Pilipinas takes the lead for the first time, 71-70, in this game on Dwight Ramos’ two freethrows.

• Carl Tamayo for 3! And it’s good. After being down by as many as 20 points, Gilas ties the game at 67 with 2:55 in the quarter.
• Another stop for Gilas and Carl Tamayo converts on the other end. Gilas within 3 points, 67-64.
• Dwight Ramos knocks down a 3! and Gilas now just behind by 5, 67-62, with under four minutes left in the quarter.
• Chris Newsome and Justin Brownlee conspiring to pull Gilas within single digits.
• Brownlee already with 5 points in the third quarter after scoring on a fadeaway. Gilas trails 61-51.

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Cone’s challenge is rejected, but Brownlee quickly hits a fadeaway in the next sequence.@inquirerdotnet @inquirerSports #FibaOQT

— Denison Rey Dalupang (@sonrdINQ) July 4, 2024

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Shengelia and Tamayo exchange words. Coach Tim telling refs that Carl caught an elbow from the Georgian.@inquirerdotnet @inquirerSports #FibaOQT

— Denison Rey Dalupang (@sonrdINQ) July 4, 2024

• Back-to-back baskets from Georgia put them ahead 59-46 two minutes into the quarter.
• Dwight Ramos opens the quarter for Gilas Pilipinas with a 3 as Kai Sotto, who earlier suffered a hard fall, is shown on screen icing his rib.

HALFTIME STATS

Justin Brownlee leads Gilas Pilipinas with 14 points at the half. Chris Newsome added 8 points while June Mar Fajardo had 6.

Georgia, which needs to win by 19 and more points to qualify for the next round and eliminate Gilas, is led by Alexander Mamukelashvili who has 14 points built on four 3s.

2nd QUARTER

• Chris Newsome misses Gilas’ last attempt before the halftime buzzer. Gilas still behind Georgia 55-43.
• Tornike Shengelia starting to catch fire as he makes a 3 to put Georgia ahead by 9.
• Dwight Ramos also fires a 3. Gilas now just within 6 with 2:46 before halftime.
• Justin Brownlee quickly responds with a 3, Chris Newsome also scores. Gilas only trails 43-36.
• Alexander Mamukelashvili still with a hot hand as he scores his 14th point with another 3.
• Georgia’s challenge is unsuccessful as June Mar Fajardo basket counts. Gilas with an 11-0 run to cut the lead down into single digits, 40-31.
• Georgia gets called for goal tending on June Mar Fajardo’s lay-in. Georgia challenges the call.
• Justin Brownlee heaves it from top of the key, June Mar Fajardo gets the putback. Gilas down 40-29.
• Calvin Oftana connects from the left corner as Gilas Pilipinas trims Georgia lead to 40-27 with 5:42 on the clock. Georgia calls for time.
• 9-2 run for Georgia in the second quarter to push its lead over Gilas, 37-19.
• Georgia stays hot as Alexander Mamukelashvili opens the second quarter with a 3 for his 11th point of the game.

1st QUARTER

• Georgia ends the first quarter strong after an and-1 from Tornike Shengelia for a 28-17 lead against Gilas Pilipinas.
• Justin Brownlee scores off a Dwight Ramos’ assist to pull Gilas within 25-15 with under 2 minutes left.
• Dwight Ramos connects from 3 but Georgia quickly responds with a 3 of its own to keep a 25-13 lead.
• Duda Sanadze makes both freethrows to put Georgia up 20-8 with 3:32 left.

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Uncharacteristic showing for Gilas halfway through the opening period.

But Justin Brownlee and Chris Newsome finally get PH on board.

16-6, still in favor of Georgia, after back-to-back Gilas triples.@inquirerdotnet @inquirerSports #FibaOQT

— Denison Rey Dalupang (@sonrdINQ) July 4, 2024

• Justin Brownlee puts Gilas on the board 16-3 with a top-of-the-key triple at 4:50 in the first.
• Make it 16-0 for Georgia after a slam from Goga Bitadze midway through the quarter.
• Georgia builds a 14-0 lead after back-to-back three-pointers from Joe Thomasson and Alexander Mamukelashvili.
• Tim Cone calls for a timeout as Gilas Pilipinas trails 0-8 at 7:14.
• Georgia opens with a 6-0 run against Gilas Pilipinas two minutes into the first quarter.

Less than 24 hours after beating Latvia, Gilas Pilipinas looks to seal its entry to the knockout round of the Riga Fiba OQT against Georgia.

Marcos congratulates Gilas: ‘Let’s shoot for Paris Olympics!’

MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Thursday congratulated Gilas Pilipinas over its win versus Latvia in the Fiba Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) in Riga, Latvia.

Marcos said Gilas’ victory was “64 years in the making” and is “worth every second.” FULL STORY

Gilas win over Latvia puts spotlight on Tim Cone’s triangle offense

MANILA, Philippines — In an era where the three-point has become one of the major weapons in basketball, Gilas Pilipinas coach Tim Cone continues to prove that triangle offense can still work even on the world stage, which is now dominated by fast-paced plays.

Cone’s signature offensive scheme worked wonders to stun World No.6 and host Latvia, 89-80, to open Gilas’ Fiba Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) campaign with high hopes on early Thursday morning (Manila time) in Riga. FULL STORY

Jordan Clarkson reacts to Gilas’ big win in Fiba OTQ

Gilas Pilipinas player Jordan Clarkson from the Utah Jazz in the NBA reacted to the Philippines’ win over Latvia on Thursday. Clarkson was Gilas’ naturalized player for the Fiba World Cup last year.

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letsss goooo ‼️‼️❣️ https://t.co/u6JnvV1ZQm

— Jordan Clarkson (@JordanClarksons) July 3, 2024

Tim Cone says Gilas win over Latvia ‘means a lot to fans back home’

MANILA, Philippines — Even Gilas Pilipinas coach Tim Cone was shocked with how his team pulled off a massive upset against world No.6 Latvia in the opener of their Fiba Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) campaign.

Gilas Pilipinas, led by Justin Brownlee and big men June Mar Fajardo and Kai Sotto, never wavered against one of the world’s best teams as it stunned Latvia with a wire-to-wire 89-80 win in front of the massive home crowd on Thursday (Manila Time) in Riga. FULL STORY

Gilas’ Justin Brownlee ‘Michael Jordan of PH basketball,’ says Kai Sotto

MANILA, Philippines — Kai Sotto was all praise for Justin Brownlee, who once again played the hero for Gilas Pilipinas in its 89-80 shocker of world No. 6 and host Latvia in the Fiba Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) on Thursday.

Sotto even went on to say that his naturalized teammate is the “Michael Jordan of Philippine basketball.”

Brownlee, also the hero in the Gilas’ historic gold medal run in the Asian Games last year, scored six straight points highlighted with a four-point play to give the visitors an 85-71 with over three minutes left. FULL STORY

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Is Justin Brownlee the MJ of the Philippines? 🐐🇵🇭 #FIBAOQT pic.twitter.com/l9QQjJgblV

— FIBA (@FIBA) July 3, 2024

Philippines wakes up to result of Gilas’ first OQT game

National coach Tim Cone has made one thing clear months before the tall order Gilas Pilipinas needs to hurdle in the Fiba Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) in Latvia.

“I’m a big believer that there are always really hard things to do. But nothing’s impossible,” he had told the Inquirer.

The architect behind last year’s golden romp in the Asian Games in China put that mantra to the test once again on Thursday morning in Manila, when the Philippines wakes up to the result of its National squad opening its OQT stint against Latvia and its home crowd at Arena Riga. FULL STORY

Gilas Pilipinas stuns world No. 6 Latvia to open Fiba OQT bid

Gilas Pilipinas pounced on Latvia’s early shooting woes and played with steely nerves down the stretch to topple World No. 6 and host Latvia, 89-80, in the Fiba Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) on Thursday.