Justin Brownlee leads Gilas Pilipinas anew in the Fiba Asia Cup qualifiers. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines–Gilas Pilipinas played with relentless pace all of Sunday night, picking apart visiting Chinese Taipei for a 106-53 victory in the Fiba Asia Cup Qualifiers.
Justin Brownlee annexed a second brilliant performance, this time tallying 26 points and 13 rebounds at a PhilSports Arena in Pasig City that was filled to the rafters.
Kai Sotto was also key once again, delivering 18 points and eight rebounds in the triumph that gave the national basketball program a rousing start for its four-year grand plan of returning to the Fiba World Cup which will next be held in Qatar.
More importantly, the 2-0 start, which included a victory over Hong Kong, gave national coach Tim Cone and his charges momentum heading into the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in July where Gilas will try to utilize to crack the Summer Games that will be staged in Paris, France in August.
Calvin Oftana added 13 points while Calr Tamayo 11 for the Nationals who made their shaky start in Hong Kong four nights ago truly a jitters issue.
Gilas Pilipinas led by as many as 54 points in its first home game since the Fiba World Cup. The triumph also gave the Nationals a 2-0 lead in Group B of the continental showcase.
Cheng Liu finished with 13 points to star for the visitors, who didn’t bring their naturalized player Jonah Morrison.
Gilas, already with just a short rotation of 11 men, also played without Jamie Malonzo.
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