GILAS Pilipinas dropped its first game of the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 after Chinese Taipei’s Chen Ying-Chun erupted for 34 points resulting to a 95-87 loss on Tuesday at the King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Chen proved to be the thorn for the Gilas side, leading Chinese Taipei to a hot start that got them ahead by as many as 17 points in the first quarter, the biggest lead of the match.
Despite the plays of Kevin Quiambao and Scottie Thompson in the fourth quarter, Gilas Pilipinas’ rally try sputtered. Making matters worse, Justin Brownlee fouled out with still 4:29 left in the contest, leaving the Nationals without their clutch player in their comeback trail.
The Philippines will next face New Zealand following the defeat. The Tall Blacks picked up a win in their first outing earlier in the day with a 100-78 win over Iraq.
READ: New Zealand finishes strong to shake off Iraqis in Asia Cup debut
With the victory, Chinese Taipei has won its second straight game in a FIBA competition against the Philippines. Last February, Chinese Taipei captured its first victory over the Philippines in 12 years during the FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers.
Brownlee had 19 points on 8-of-15 shooting from the field, while also grabbing seven rebounds, but was hounded with foul troubles all game.
After missing the first half, Quiambao sizzled with 17 points in 16 minutes, his three-pointer slicing the gap to 80-74. But Brownlee fouled out on the next possession followed by another three-ball by Chen to stop Gilas’ momentum.
Thompson also had 16 points, seven rebounds, and five assists in the Gilas defeat. Dwight Ramos had 16 points after struggling in the first half.
Gilas Pilipinas fell behind 25-8, with Chen draining two threes during that stretch, forcing the Nationals to play catch-up all game long.
Aside from Brownlee, AJ Edu and Chris Newsome were also saddled with foul troubles early in the match-up.
Chen had a memorable night, shooting 6-of-8 from threes including one in the waning seconds of the game for good measure for Chinese Taipei.
Brandon Gilbeck had 16 points and nine rebounds. Chinese Taipei’s naturalized big man had four fouls in the third quarter but Gilas couldn’t take advantage.
The scores:
Chinese Taipei 95 – Chen Y.C. 34, Gilbeck 16, R. Hinton 14, Lin 14, Gadiaga 5, A. Hinton 4, Tseng 4, Ma 3, Hu 1, Liu 0, Gao 0, Chen K.C. 0.
Philippines 87 – Brownlee 19, Quiambao 17, Thompson 16, Ramos 16, Edu 8, Oftana 6, Newsome 3, Fajardo 2, Perez 0, Aguilar 0, Tamayo 0.
Quarters: 27-16; 43-34; 73-62; 95-87.
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