Gilas stunned by Chinese Taipei for first loss in FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers

(UPDATED 9:24 p.m.) MANILA, Philippines — Justin Brownlee’s 39-point performance went down the drain after absorbing an upset loss against Chinese Taipei, 91-84, in their FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers matchup Thursday evening at the Taipei Heping Basketball Gymnasium.

Brownlee carried the load the whole game for Gilas, but the squad lost steam in the endgame with costly misses and turnovers — with a total of 17 — as the Philippines fell to World No. 79 Chinese Taipei. 

World No. 34 Gilas, which already qualified for the FIBA Asia Cup, thus tallied its first loss in the qualifiers.

Ting-Chien Lin powered Chinese Taipei with 21 points, seven rebounds, five assists, three steals and a block, while Mohammad Al Bachir Gadiaga added 21 markers, four boards and two steals. 

Chun Hsiang Lu chipped in 18 points. 

After trailing by 12 points in the fourth quarter, 65-77, Brownlee erupted and led a 10-0 run that sliced Gilas’ deficit to two, 75-77, with 5:58 remaining. 

A Lu stepback jumper halted the Philippines’ run, 79-75, but a slam by AJ Edu, followed by a Brownlee triple off the ankle breaker, gave Gilas an 80-79 lead with 3:55 left. 

A pair of free throws by Lin pushed the home team ahead once again, 81-80, but a short jumper by Chris Newsome put Gilas on the driver’s seat anew, 82-81. 

Lin, however, answered with a 3-pointer on the other end, which was followed by a turnover by Brownlee. This leding to a Brandon Gilbeck deuce that gave Chinese Taipei an 86-82 lead. 

A wing jumper by Edu kept the Philippines on the game, 84-86, with 2:16 to go. Taiwan’s Lin then missed a 3-pointer, giving Gilas a chance to tie or take the lead. But Brownlee threw the ball away in transition. 

Gadiaga missed a trey that would have iced the game, but he got his own rebound. He attempted another layup but missed, but the home team grabbed possession of the ball anew, burning some precious time. 

After another Liu triple missed, Brownlee had the chance to tie, but he missed his jumper.

On the other end, Liu pulled up from the left wing, connecting on a triple for the dagger, 89-84, with 47.1 seconds left. 

After a blocked shot by Ramos in the next possession, Liu tried to put the exclamation point on the game with another triple. He missed, but Gilbeck grabbed the rebound and slammed in an emphatic putback jam to seal the deal. 

The Philippines trailed by as much as 13 points in the first half, before a late surge by Ramos cut the deficit to two, 45-47. 

Gilas grabbed the lead in the third quarter, 51-50, after a trey by Brownlee. 

But a 9-0 run capped by a deuce by Gilbeck put Chinese Taipei ahead, 59-51. A Brownlee fadeaway snapped the salvo, but the home team continued to roll and grabbed a dozen point lead once again, before the Nationals clawed back in the fourth that ultimately fell short.  

Chien-Hao Ma registered 14 markers for the victors, while Gilbeck had eight points. Chinese Taipei also connected on 15 of their 43 3-pointers.

Ramos chipped in 15 points in 38 minutes for Gilas. Edu added 10 markers and six boards, while June Mar Fajardo had nine points and five rebounds. 

Last year, Gilas blasted Chinese Taipei by 53 points, 106-53, in the first window of the qualifiers.

The Philippines will try to recover from the shocking loss when it collides with New Zealand at 10 a.m. on Sunday in Auckland. Both teams are holding 4-1 win-loss records, as New Zealand dealt Hong Kong a 92-51 loss also on Thursday.