BOCAUE, Bulacan – Gilas Pilipinas found its touch from from three-point land early on the way to a 53-41 halftime lead over Lebanon in their Fiba Basketball World Cup Asian qualifier at the Philippine Arena.
Justin Brownlee, playing his first game as Gilas' naturalized player, hit back-to-back threes to a shooting spree in the first quarter, with Ray Parks and Jordan Heading later joining the fray in the second period.
In total, Gilas hit 8 of its 18 three-point attempts, with June Mar Fajardo even hitting his lone three of the half.
Gilas capped off the first half with a well-executed out-of-bounds play, with Brownlee throwing down a slam off a Scottie Thompson assist for a 53-41 advantage.
Brownlee topscored for Gilas in the first half with 15 points, while Parks had eight points. CJ Perez added seven as host Philippines look to improve on its 5-3 win-loss record in the qualifiers.
Amir Saoud kept Lebanon in the ballgame with game-high 17 points in the first half for the Cedars, who are eyeing for their eighth win in nine outings.
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