Justin Brownlee for the first time looked like the all-conquering JB Filipinos have come to love.
But it wasn’t enough as Chinese Taipei showed nerves of steel and proved steadier down the stretch to stun Gilas Pilipinas, 91-84, in front of a raucous home crowd at the Taipei Heping Basketball Gymnasium to open up window three of their FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers.
Benson Lin, Chun Hsiang Lu, Mohammad Al Bachir Gadiaga all took turns puncturing the Gilas defense as they combined for 60 of the home team’s 91 points. Lin and Lu fired big treys down the stretch as well to highlight the 21 and 18 markers they scored, respectively. Gadiaga also scored 21 for the hosts.
Lin, a standout from the hosts’ juniors’ program, added 7 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals to his stellar showing. Gadiaga finished with 4 rebounds and 2 steals.
The two nations engaged in a tight, back-and-forth first quarter, with Chinese Taipei ending the first 10 minutes with a slim 22-20 lead. But led by Gadiaga and Chien-Hao Ma, who added 14, the hosts went on a 10-0 to start the second and led by as much as 13. Gilas then battled back with Justin Brownlee leading the way to finish the first half down by just two, 47-45.
Gilas Play Catch-Up as Chinese Taipei Put on a Show
Gilas started strong in the second half, taking a slim 51-50 lead on a Brownlee triple. But Chinese Taipei countered with a 9-0 blitz to retake a 59-51 lead and seize control of the third and put Gilas on the ropes.
Then, Brownlee went in takeover mode, pouring in 11 of his 39 points in the fourth—including three triples—to help Gilas briefly retake the lead, 81-80. JB also had 6 rebounds and 8 assists but also had a crucial turnover to halt Gilas’ momentum down the stretch.
But Chinese Taipei displayed nerves of still in the face of Brownlee’s onslaught, making just enough plays on both ends to fend off Gilas. Lin’s three gave the hosts the lead back, while Lu’s triple with under a minute left proved to be the dagger, giving Chinese Taipei an 89-94 lead with 47 ticks left.
With the win, Chinese Taipei improved to 2-3 in the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers. Gilas, on the other hand, suffered their first loss and dropped to 4-1.
The scores:
Chinese Taipei (91) – Lin 21, Gadiaga 21, Lu 18, Ma 14, Gilbeck 8, Chen 5, Gao 2, Tseng 2, Liu 0, Chou 0, Lan 0
Philippines (84) – Brownlee 39, Ramos 15, Edu 10, Fajardo 9, Newsome 7, Thompson 4, Perez 0, Oftana 0, Tamayo 0
