Misfiring Gilas Pilipinas overcomes Thailand

Gilas Pilipinas weathered one of Justin Brownlee’s rare offensive struggles and overcame Thailand 87-72 on Thursday, September 28 to remain unblemished in the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.

Brownlee drained only 8 of his 27 field goal attempts (30%) but still managed to contribute 22 points, 15 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 steals and lead the Filipinos to a 2-0 record in Pool C.

Despite his shooting struggles, Brownlee nailed clutch shots in the fourth quarter to help the Philippines survive a Thai rally led by Frederick Lish, who scored 12 of his 22 points in the period.

Thailand trailed by 50-68 entering the fourth quarter but Lish scored 7 points in a 15-2 surge to trim the gap to 65-70.

Brownlee, on the other hand, came through when it mattered the most, initiating and capping a 9-3 blitz with a three-pointer and a pair of free throws that restored order for the Filipinos.

CJ Perez had 16 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals, and Scottie Thompson nearly had a triple-double with 7 points, 9 assists, 8 rebounds, and 2 steals.

June Mar Fajardo had 9 points and 6 rebounds for Team Philippines, which made up for its 39% shooting (32-of-82) with 63 rebounds.

The Filipinos were so dominant on the boards that their 34 offensive rebounds nearly matched the Thais’ total of 35 rebounds.

Tyler Lamb led Thailand with 29 points, but he was limited to just eight in the crucial second half.

Lamb scored 14 points as his team took a 22-20 lead at the end of the first quarter before the Filipinos took charge in the middle periods, outscoring the Thais 48-28.

Thailand remained winless after two outings.