By ADRIAN STEWART CO
Gilas Pilipinas fell short in its comeback bid as it suffered a 91-90 loss to Jordan in the sixth and final window of the 2023 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers at the Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan on Monday night, February 27.
After being down by as much as 25 points in the opening half, the Philippine team managed to claw back to within 90-91 with over a minute left via a conversion from Justin Brownlee.
Gilas had a chance to take the lead but Earl Scottie Thompson uncharacteristically missed his two free throws with 22 seconds left, while Bobby Ray Parks, Jr. misfired at the buzzer.
“Biggest missed free throws ko sa career ko. I’m going to learn from this. Sobrang ang dami kong nabigo na Pilipino,” Thompson said.
“Andun ‘yung pressure kaya kinakausap ko ‘yung sarili ko na sana ma-shoot ko, pero ganun talaga,” he added.
Naturalized player Dar Tucker spearheaded the offense for the visiting Jordanian squad with 22 points, Freddy Ibrahim and Zaid Abbas chipped in 19 and 10 markers, respectively.
Jordan had been scorching since the opening quarter as they knocked down six three-point conversions to quickly create separation from Gilas Pilipinas at 33-14, which later grew to its largest at 25 points in the second quarter.
Brownlee started to make noise for Gilas Pilipinas late in the second quarter and he continued with his 17-point explosion in the third quarter as the national team cut the deficit to 64-70.
Brownlee stayed hot at the onset of the fourth quarter and, with the help of Parks, Gilas Pilipinas were able to force a deadlock at 81-all and later at 88-all on a Jamie Malonzo dunk.
Jordan was able to catch a break with a technical free throw from a crucial away from play foul by Thompson and a basket for a 91-88 advantage before Brownlee attacked the basket to cut the deficit to 90-91.
“Dami-dami [ko ding crucial error]. ‘Yung [away from play] foul ko nung down the stretch, may rule pala ang FIBA about dun at hindi ko alam ‘yun, so nagulat din kami,” Thompson said.
Brownlee finished with 41 points, including five three-point conversions, while Malonzo added 11 markers as the Gilas Pilipinas ended the qualifiers with a 6-4 slate and will still move on to the World Cup proper.
JORDAN 91 — Tucker 22, Ibrahim 19, Abbas 10, Bzai 9, Alhamarsheh 8, Hawwas 8, Alhendi 6, Hussein 5, Abbass 2, Alnajdawi 2.
PHILIPPINES 90 — Brownlee 41, Malonzo 11, Thompson 9, Heading 9, Parks 8, Ramos 7, Perez 4, Fajardo 1, K. Ravena 0, Amos 0.
Quarterscores: 33-14, 60-41, 70-64, 91-90./ASC, WDJ