Joy and pride as Philippines grabs first Asiad basketball gold in 61 years
CEBU, Philippines — In a historic moment to remember, the Philippines bagged their first Asian Games basketball gold since 1962 with a 70-60 beating of Jordan in the final at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre Gymnasium in Hangzhou, China on Friday night.
Naturalized played Justin Brownlee dropped 20 points on top of 10 rebounds as Gilas Pilipinas ended the country’s 61-year gold medal drought in the quadrennial games. It came just two days after they miraculously recovered from 20 points down to stun host China, 77-76, in the semifinals
Against their tormentors in the group stage, a highly energized Gilas surged to a 13-point lead, 28-15, behind the hot hands of Brownlee and Ange Kouame with 4:24 left in the second period.
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, however, ignited a searing 16-1 run as Jordan easily wiped out the deficit before eventually seizing the upper hand, 31-29, on a baseline jumper by Mohammed Hussain.
Brownlee quickly responded with a coast-to-coast layup to help the Filipino cagers force a 31-31 deadlock at the break.
In a big third-quarter show, Gilas outclassed the Jordanians, 20-10, for a 51-41 advantage going into the last 10-minute zone of the contest.
The Jordanians pulled within just six , 50-56, but back-to-back shots by Kouame and Scottie Thompson pushed Gilas back to a double-digit edge, 60-50, with five minutes left in the game.
Gilas then survived some nervy moments and clung on, with Kouame and Scottie Thompson drilling in four straight crucial free throws in the dying seconds to seal the historic triumph.
“It feels great, man,” said Ivory Coast-born Angelo Kouame, who chipped in 14 points. “We knew the team needed that win and to get the job done. Everyone came together and that was a great team effort.”
“It means a lot after all these years, and that’s bigger than all of us,” he added.
The American-born Chris Newsome also deserved a hearty pat on is back for his tremendous defense on Hollis-Jefferson aside from pouring in 13 markers for the victorious Gilas side.
“It means a lot for not just me but everybody in that locker room,” said Newsome. “There was a lot of people who didn’t think we could do it, and we proved them wrong.” — (FREEMAN)
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