A poor start from Gilas Pilipinas in their 2025 FIBA Asia Cup opener versus Chinese Taipei proved ominuous. Chinese Taipei raced out to a 27-16 first quarter lead with guard Ying Chun Chen pouring in 11 of his game-high 34 in the first eight minutes, where the Taiwanese roared to a 23-8 start. It proved to be all that Chinese Taipei needed to dispatch Gilas Pilipinas 95-87 as they repulsed every comeback bid from the Filipinos in their opening game in the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup on Wednesday morning at King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Justin Brownlee, just as he did in the Philippines’ FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers loss to Chinese Taipei earlier this year, tried carrying Gilas once more, dropping 16 points in the first half—including a desperation heave from halfcourt—to keep the nationals to within 43-34 after 20 minutes of action.
Ying Chun Chen, Chinese Taipei Prove Too Much for Gilas Pilipinas
Despite Chinese Taipei’s hot start, Gilas Pilipinas was still within striking distance for much of the second half. Unfortunately, the Tim Cone-helmed squad just could’t break through, with their comeback attempts repeatedly foiled either by a big bucket from Ying Chun Chen or free throws from bail-out fouls.
Things got worse for the nationals in the four-minute mark of the fourth as Brownlee fouled out with Chinese Taipei up by just six, 80-74, after a Kevin Quiambao stepback trey. Ying Chun Chen, who drew Brownlee’s fifth and final foul then drilled his own stepback triple over the outstretched arms of AJ Edu to extend the Chinese Taipei lead back to 83-74.
In all, Ying Chun Chen hit six triples on eight attempts and was a blistering 10-for-17 from the field overall to lead the charge for Chinese Taipei. Naturalized center Brandon Gilbeck added 16 points and 9 rebounds, while Robert Hinton and Ting-Chien Lin chipped in 14 apiece. Brownlee’s 19 points led Gilas, while Kevin Quiambao putting in 17. Scottie Thompson and Dwight Ramos put up 16 each, with the former adding 7 rebounds an assists and the latter contributing 4 boards and 6 dimes.
The Scores:
Chinese Taipei (95) – Chen 34, Gilbeck 16, Lin 14, Hinton 14, Gadiaga 5, Tseng 4, Hinton A 4, Ma 3, Hu 1, Liu 0, Gao 0, Chen 0
Gilas (87) – Brownlee 19, Quiambao 17, Thompson 16, Ramos 16, Edu 8, Oftana 6, Newsome 3, Fajardo 2, Perez 0, Aguilar 0, Tamayo 0
