GILAS WIN ASIAN BASKETBALL GAMES GOLD AFTER 61YEARS

JUSTIN Brownlee was the Gilas Pilipinas’ hero once again on Friday, October 6,  as the Philippines clinched their first Asian Games men’s basketball gold medal since 1962.

Brownlee top-scored with 20 points and also led the Gilas with 38 minutes 25 seconds on court and five assists as the Philippines reversed their earlier group-stage defeat against Jordan to win 19th Asian Games Hangzhou gold by a 70–60 scoreline. 

He also picked up 10 rebounds.

The triumph also ends the Gilas’ run of missing out on a medal dating back to 1998, when the team took bronze. 

For Brownlee, it capped a stellar tournament during which he was the star for the Philippines nearly every game.

The partisan local crowd at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre Gymnasium took to supporting the Jordanians, audibly jeering the Philippines’ free throw attempts.

 But the Gilas showed they were unmoved, Brownlee sinking three free throws after drawing a foul as he was lining up a shot from outside the arc. 

Both teams continued to trade the lead early in the third, and in the vein of the first quarter continued to try their luck from downtown, with the Gilas Pilipinas having more success in that regard than the Jordanians.

When the buzzer sounded, there were no big celebrations – just respect between the teams as they shook hands. 

Only then did the Gilas began jumping about in delight, and all that could be heard were Philippine cheers in the stands and on court.

 The Gilas had ended a 61-year wait for gold.

It didn’t matter that the game was low on quality, or that it was one of the lowest-scoring Asian Games finals ever. 

All that mattered was that the Philippine anthem would sound out over the arena, and gold medals placed around the Gilas players’ necks.

Speaking afterwards, Chris Newsome said: “There was a lot of people who didn’t think we could do it, and we proved them wrong.”

 Teammate Angelo Kouame agreed, referring to the recent men’s FIBA Basketball World Cup jointly hosted in Manila.

“We wanted to fight for everybody, we wanted to fight for the country. It’s an amazing win,” Kouame said. “A month after the World Cup, we knew that our national team really needed that win. Everybody came together and that was a great team effort.”

Earl Scottie Thompson added: “This is special for us, for our country. This is a very meaningful win because we made history.

“Our coach told us, even from the start, that this is a rare opportunity and we should take this chance. Our game plan was to stay aggressive because every possession counts. We also followed our defensive game plan that our coaches gave us, and it worked.”

Man of the hour Brownlee paid tribute to his teammates. “We knew that we would have a hard chance of playing in the game, especially when we lost to them earlier in the tournament.

“The Filipino heart, the Filipino pride…there is nothing like it. We displayed it in this tournament. We were down in some games, and we were up, and then we came back. The Filipino heart toughened us up a lot, especially in this gold medal game.”  Olympic.com