GILAS Pilipinas defeated the fancied Rondae Hollis-Jefferson-backed Jordan squad 70-60 in the men’s basketball final at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.
The Philippines defeated Jordan’s rallies, headed by resident import and naturalized Filipino Justin Brownlee, Scottie Thompson of Barangay Ginebra and Ange Kouame.
Gilas was able to mount an aggressive start against Jordan, taking an early 11-5 lead. The nationals held a 28-15 lead before Rondae Hollis-Jefferson ignited a ferocious 14-1 run to tie the score at 29-all.
The game was dictated by runs as Gilas was able to answer with their own run everytime Jordan was trying to close the gap.
Before ending the third quarter, the Filipinos had yet again surged ahead thanks to Newsome, Kevin Alas and Japeth Aguilar’s buckets, the team banked a 51-41 lead going to the fourth.
Hollis-Jefferson, who threatened the team with his big shots down the stretch, was unable to will the team back to the game and win.
Given that the team was more balanced in scoring with 21 points coming from the bench, while Jordan became reliant on Hollis-Jefferson to settle for only eight bench points.
It was a good shooting night for Gilas as they were 33 percent field goal shooting against Jordan’s 26 percent. The Filipinos were also more efficient from beyond the arc, scoring 28 percent compared to Jordan’s 22.
Ange Kouame scored a massive double-double of 14 points and 11 boards to go with five steals and two blocks off the bench, while Brownlee led Gilas with 20 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists.
Chris Newsome scored 13 points in his best game of the tournament while facing the daunting task of stopping Hollis-Jefferson on defense. Scottie Thompson chipped in with 11 points, five rebounds, and three assists.
61 Years in the Making
Photo Courtesy: Paolo Del Rosario
After a 61-year hiatus, Gilas Pilipinas was able to surprise basketball fans in the Philippines with the gold medal that mattered most, reclaiming the Asian Games title and reintroducing themselves as the Kings of Asia.
This is the first time that the Philippine flag has been carried as gold medalists in the Asian Games since 1962.
Given that the squad has only three weeks to prepare for the Asian Games, the country’s fourth gold medal in this conference was a bit more shocking than the other categories representing the country.
Gilas Pilipinas began their 19th Asian Games campaign with huge dismay from supporters owing to the lineup they’ve assembled for the event.
It was also a satisfying win for coach Tim Cone, who had to ramp things up and put the team together for the Asian Games. He accomplished a long-held desire of securing gold after his Centennial side settled for bronze in the 1998 Asiad.
The gold medal also helped to redeem the Philippines from its catastrophic 2023 FIBA World Cup campaign, in which it lost four games before finishing with a triumph over China.
Gilas will return to action in the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers, a 24-team event. For the time being, let us rejoice that the Philippines is once again the King of Asian basketball.
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