Gilas golden moment  

MANILA, Philippines — History. Destiny.

A ragtag Gilas squad was destined to end it all, scuttling an embattled Jordan, 70-60, in the final and stilling the restless ghost of its Asiad past.

It was decisive, incisive and emphatic a historic win as the Gilas men led the nation to a grand finish that was 61 years in the making in Hangzhou.

“Six decades wow! We caught them on an off shooting night,’’ said Gilas coach Tim Cone.

They felt they had a slim chance of gaining a crack at the gold-medal match with a cast that teemed with players with disparate skills and lacking in experience in gut-wrenching regional showdowns like the Asian Games.

In fact, Cone had to enlist five ineligible players and five replacements, who were in the list of Gilas players submitted to the Asiad organizers.

They were also coming in only weeks after the country hosted the FIBA World Cup, which unwittingly served as a platform for the best over the rest where Gilas was consigned after a series of heartbreaking defeats.

But then there was Justin Brownlee, the man with a wondrous touch from quarter-court. He fuelled a scintillating comeback from 20 points down to stun the defending champion China, 77-76, in the semifinals that silenced a crowd of 18,000 at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center.

Gilas had looked at defeat in an eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation with the Chinese but never wavered.

It was the highly seeded hosts who blinked under pressure and the Filipinos pulled off the thriller of a win and booked a final rematch with Jordan.a

There were those nagging thoughts that Jordan could easily hurdle Gilas following its 87-62 decision in the prelims.

But Cone, a master tactician to the very end, knew Jordan could be uncomfortable being in its first finale, ordered a pressing man zone that rattled the Jordanians, came off with a fast start in the fourth period where the Jordanians lost the initiative and Gilas was home anew as Asiad No. 1.

The Gilas players whooped it up at the final buzzer, exchanged high fives, formed human chain and acknowledged the cheers from a handful of fans in the cavernous gym.

They were simply happy, nailing the gold the nation last won in 1962 in Jakarta, basking in golden moment and giving millions of Filipinos the time of their lives for this sport closest to their hearts. It’s their destiny to be in history.