The five-out, small ball experiment of the Philippine men’s national basketball team misfired as world number 34 Jordan escaped with a win, 91-90, in the final 2023 FIBA World Cup qualification game in the Asia-Oceania zone Monday night in Bocaue, Bulacan.
The Jordanians immediately erected an 18-5 bubble midway in the first quarter, erected a 23-point lead in the second quarter, and never looked back despite the torrid outburst of naturalized Filipino Justin Brownlee.
The long-time Ginebra import exploded for 29 points in the second half, towing Gilas as a small-ball center in a crammed comeback attempt, and finishing the Pinoy campaign with a game-high of 41 points off five triples and 12 rebounds.
With his performance, Brownlee broke the scoring record of Syria’s naturalized guard Amir Hinton’s 36 points in the qualifying tournament posted in February 2022.
However, Gilas’ lack in height was exploited by the bulkier Jordanian team in the first half, as the North American backcourt duo of Dar Tucker and Freddy Ibrahim drove to the basket with ease, thanks to the solid screens set by big men Mohammad Hussein and Zaid Abbas.
Brownlee, playing as a small ball center, took matters to his own hands with a 17-point explosion in the third quarter as Gilas narrowed the lead, 64-70.
Back-to-back triples by Brownlee and Parks midway in the fourth quarter allowed Gilas to tie the game at 81 but Jordan regained the lead with a quick triple by Ahmad Almarsaheh and a Tucker driving dunk.
Unfazed, the Philippines managed to tie the game a second time at 88 with a driving dunk by Brownlee off a Scottie Thompson screen and a tip-in by Jamie Malonzo off a Brownlee missed triple.
After a Caden Almajdawi pick-and-roll dunk regained the lead for Jordan, 91-88, Brownlee sank a hook shot with a minute left to keep Gilas within a hairline.
That was when misfortune struck Gilas twice, as Thompson missed two free throws after drawing a foul from big man Hussein off a putback attempt while Parks muffed a turnaround leaner from ten feet in the very last second of the game.
“Ang dami kong nabigo na mga Pilipino,” Thompson, a 71.4% free throw shooter in the last four qualifiers game prior to tonight, lamented after the game.
Tucker topscored for Jordan with 22 points on top of 12 rebounds while Ibrahim added 19 points and eight assists.
Malonzo was the only other player aside from Brownlee in double digits with 11 points while Thompson tallied nine points, seven rebounds, and seven assists.
The game was of no bearing for both squads as Jordan has already qualified for their third World Cup in their nation’s history while the Philippines, as co-host, has automatically qualified for its third straight World Cup even before the qualifying tournament began.
Both squads finished with a 6-4 win-loss card as New Zealand led the standings in Group E with eight wins and two losses.
* * *
