CHINA has always been one of the Philippines’ toughest opponents in Asian basketball over the years, more often than not, being on the losing side of their many battles.
There was one battle though that proved to be memorable nine years ago during the bronze medal match of the 2014 Fiba Asia Cup in Wuhan when Gilas Pilipinas beat the host country in one of most exciting finishes you will ever see.
CLICK HERE for SPIN.ph's account of the game nine years ago
It all came down to the final play of the game with Paul Lee sinking three pressure-packed free throws with no more time remaining to give the Philippines the epic 80-79 win.
Back then, the Fiba Asia Cup was not the regional championship that it is today – the tournament was the former Stankovic Cup named in honor of former Fiba secretary general Boris Stankovic. It also served as a qualifier to the Fiba Asia Championship that is now called the Fiba Asia Cup.
Nine teams saw action in 2014 with Gilas topping Group B of the tournament to reach the quarterfinals. Gilas at this time was in the early stage of its preparation for the Fiba Basketball World Cup that year in Seville, Spain.
Perhaps the Fiba Asia Cup performance for Lee was his ticket to the final World Cup team months after.
Lee was days removed from losing the 2014 PBA Governors’ Cup Finals when his then Rain or Shine team lost to San Mig Coffee, which later became Magnolia and ironically became Lee’s team years after.
Late in the third-place game, China was up, 79-77, with Wang Zhelin needing two free throws to seal the win with 6.2 seconds remaining. But Wang missed the charities, enabling the Philippines one last shot to at least tie the game.
Gilas ran frantically into its frontcourt with Lee receiving a pass from LA Tenorio. Lee then was able to fake off his defender and fish for a foul while taking a three-point shot, earning himself a trip to the line.
Calm and collected, Lee sank all free throws in front of a jeering home crowd to win the bronze for Gilas, prompting a celebration on the court to cap off one of the most thrilling conclusions the national team was ever involved in.
RELIVE the moment with this video:
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