SAUDI Arabia was essentially one foul away from booking a trip to the quarterfinals and end the campaign of Gilas Pilipinas in the FIBA Asia Cup 2025.
The host country was ahead by three, 79-76, with 8.4 seconds left in regulation following a putback by big man Mohammed Alsuwailem, and its fans were getting ready to celebrate inside the King Abdullah Sports City.
In order to protect that three-point lead, Saudi Arabia had the option of turning the game's final seconds into a free throw shooting contest by fouling a Gilas and sending a player to the line.
READ Cone runs old Ginebra play - lets Brownlee take care of the rest
The Saudis didn't and Justin Brownlee made them pay.
Brownlee did his magic and later sank a three-point shot with 3.7 seconds left to tie the game and send it to overtime. Gilas rode that momentum in overtime to oust Saudi Arabia, 95-88, and advance to the quarterfinals.
Saudi Arabia coach Ricard Casas Gurt said the instruction was indeed to foul in the final seconds of the fourth quarter.
But he refused to pin the blame on any of his players, saying Gilas was able to execute brilliantly when a screen by Dwight Ramos led to Justin Brownlee being defended by a smaller player in Marzouq Almuwallad.
“The decision was foul. But we don’t make foul because they changed in the screen,” said Casas. “But the decision was foul.”
Casas admitted the team lost focus following that shot by Brownlee, part of the learning curve that Saudi Arabia must experience in order to become a better team.
“We competed in our maximum. I’m proud of my team. We lost but I’m proud of my team. They were really good in shooting in the last minutes. But we have to feel proud of the team," said the Spanish coach.
"We came back from our first quarter. We need to be smarter in the last minutes. The situation was positive for us. But this is basketball.”
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