HANGZHOU, September 29 ------ Gilas Pilipinas overcame a tense moment against Thailand before prevailing, 87-72, to secure a second straight win in the 19th Asian Games. The Filipinos saw their 20-point lead down to just five midway in the fourth before Justin Brownlee, CJ Perez, and Ange Kouame restored order for the national team. Gilas now sports a 2-0 slate on top of Group C heading to its highly anticipated match-up with Jordan this Saturday. Jordan also holds a similar 2-0 record after registering an 84-60 win over Bahrain earlier.
"Obviously our unfamiliarity showed today. They (Thais) changed defense on us and it certainly confused our guys in terms of our execution," said coach Tim Cone of the Thais. "So we have to rely a lot on our individual skills. These guys are pros, they make plays, and that's what we relied on today, for them to make plays." he added.
Brownlee again led Gilas with 22 points, but just shot 7-of-21 from the floor, while Perez was the other guy in double figures for the team with 16. Gilas struggled with its shooting early, but once it settled down, was able to control the tempo of the game starting the second quarter. It had its biggest lead at 68-47 in the waning seconds of the third period. But behind the hot-shooting Tyler Lamb, the Thais mounted a huge comeback behind a 13-0 run to start the fourth and threaten at 68-63.
Source: spin.ph
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