GILAS Pilipinas erased a 21-point deficit behind the efforts of Justin Brownlee to defeat Macau Black Bears, 103-98, on Monday in its sendoff game at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum before heading to Jeddah for the FIBA Asia Cup 2025.
Brownlee was his old, deadly self in his first game back in the Philippines since March, rescuing Gilas with 32 points on 5-of-7 shooting from threes including timely shots in the end game to hold off a last-ditch Macau comeback.
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Gilas fought back from double-digit deficits by outscoring Macau, 33-18, in the third quarter to make the game close and highly competitive the rest of the way despite playing without June Mar Fajardo, Calvin Oftana, and Kai Sotto.
The Nationals conceded 12 threes in the first half against Macau, which took a 63-46 lead at the break. The home side fell behind, 56-35, at one point in the second quarter, before turning up a notch on defense come the second half.
National coach Tim Cone praised Gilas for its defense that he said will be vital in its FIBA Asia Cup campaign.
“They surprised us with their ability to shoot the ball. We didn’t know their players. We've never seen any of them really before so it was a shock that they could come out and go 12-of-17 from the three-point line in the first half,” said Cone.
“But give credit to the guys. They made a decision at halftime that they are going to come out and defend. We gave up 18 points in the third quarter, and low 20s in the fourth. Like I said, we are going to make some nice plays, nice three-point shots… but what is going to win it for us is our defense,” said Cone.
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Brownlee hit a fadeaway three-point play with 3:40 remaining that answered a 7-0 threat by Macau, giving Gilas a 96-92 lead. He nailed another three with 1:41 left to pad Gilas’ lead to 101-94.
Dwight Ramos added 19 points for Gilas while AJ Edu had 15 points including a dunk with 41.9 seconds left that made it a 103-96 ballgame.
Edu also soared for a dunk against Quinten Millora-Brown during the third quarter that sliced the gap to 69-67.
Millora-Brown, who played for University of the Philippines in the UAAP last season, had six points, seven rebounds, two steals, and one block in the loss.
The scores:
Philippines 103 – Brownlee 32, Ramos 19, Edu 15, Quiambao 14, Thompson 10, Perez 7, Newsome 2, Abarrientos 2, Malonzo 2, Aguilar 0, Tamayo 0.
Macau Black Bears 98 – Douglas 23, Anthony 22, Leung 17, Peek 14, Shackelford 7, Millora-Brown 6, Dennis 5, Ndiaye 2, Obasa 2, Micek 0.
Quarters: 25-33; 46-63; 79-81; 103-98.
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