Gilas Pilipinas kicked off the 2023 Asian Games with evident determination as they delivered a gratifying result of 89-61, bagging a win on their first match against Bahrain at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre Gymnasium in China on Tuesday, September 26.
With the squad led by the naturalized player Justin Brownlee, Gilas Pilipinas has paved the way for its Asian gold medal journey to commence once again after 25 years.
Brownlee, a power forward of PBA’s Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, led the scoreboard with his unstoppable offensive plays in the paint, and capped the game with an impressive double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds, with 3 assists, 3 steals, and a block within a 13-minute play.
Consequently, Ange Kouame, a PBA import playing center for the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, also steered the Gilas’ scoring momentum by garnering 15 points, 7 rebounds, 1 steal and a block. While CJ Perez, a San Miguel Beermen guard, made a significant contribution to the play with his 15 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals for the team.
As the opening quarter was closed out with Gilas leading only by four points, 22-18, they were still able to establish a profound second quarter with their buried shots from beyond the arc.
Taking control of the second frame was Kouame who nailed 10 of his 15 points, while Perez lent an early advantage to the team with his 7 consequent points for a 29-20 lead, accumulating a score of 51-33 lead nearing half-time.
Despite the damage being already done, the squad cruised their way as their lead grew to a massive 34 points, 89-55, leaving the players from Bahrain hopeless in shattering the fortified defense of Gilas, thus concluding the match with a victory, 89-61.
Playing as one of the replacements for Calvin Abueva, Jason Perkins, Roger Pogoy, Terrence Romeo, and Mo Tautuaa, Marcio Lassiter was also able to put up 8 points, 4 assists, and 3 rebounds, while June Mar Fajardo, a two-time World Cup veteran, chipped 8 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 steals.
Respectively, Maitham Almoathin and Mustafa Rashed showed the way for Bahrain with 14 and 13 points whereas the former PBA Best Import Wayne Chism, who leads the team of Bahrain, has tallied 5 points, 13 rebounds, 3 blocks, and 2 steals in the losing effort.
The synergy of Gilas Pilpinas’ players has been remarkable under the management of coach Tim Cone. Gilas has averaged 46% from the field including 7-of-21 shooting from the deep. On the other hand, Bahrain had 19 out of 64 field goals and made 12 out of 38 attempts from three-point range despite the results. Gilas went 22 out of 29 from the free-throw line, while Bahrain only made 11 out of 15 free throws. Philippines outrebounded Bahrain, 52-38, PHL had more assists 24-11 and executed more steals 11-9.
The Philippines and Jordan are now both on top of the tournament in their group, after the latter’s win against Thailand, 97-63, on the same day. As a result, Gilas Pilipinas is expected to face Thailand on Tuesday, September 28 at the same venue, and will battle Jordan as led by another former PBA Best Import Rondae Hollis Jefferson in their last preliminary round game on Saturday, September 30.