Gilas Pilipinas Loses to Jordan:
The Philippine Men’s Basketball Team, Gilas Pilipinas, lost to Jordan and now faces a tough road to the ASIAD medal after they were outscored by the Middle Eastern team with the final score of 87-62, ending the Philippines’ two-game winning streak in the basketball competition.
Gilas Pilipinas’ defeat at the hands of the Jordanian team that paraded nine players from their World Cup 2023 line-up is a clear indication of how strong the team was, which is spearheaded by former PBA import and naturalized Jordanian player Rondae Hollis-Jefferson.
The Philippines scored the first points of the game courtesy of Justin Brownlee and JuneMar Fajardo. Still, later on, they were held to just 10 points in the payoff frame, unable to answer the barrage of points from long distance in the game’s final period.
The National squad trailed by double digits at the start of the second half, 43-29, after a split from the free throw line courtesy of Mohammad Hussein.
Gilas Pilipinas stormed back and tied the game at 52-all, but Jordan finished the quarter with a 7-0 run with an impressive last-second shot by Ahmad Al Dwairi to take a 59-52 lead heading into the final quarter.
Justin Brownless top-scored for Gilas Pilipinas with 24 points, while Scottie Thompson logged a double-double performance, scoring 11 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Still, their efforts were insufficient to score a victory against the determined Jordanian as they will settle for a longer route to the medal rounds.
Gilas Pilipinas dropped to No. 2 with a 2-1 win-loss record in Group C of the Men’s Basketball competition in the Asian Games. They will now battle against Qatar on October 2 for the right to play Iran in their Quarterfinals.
Gilas Pilipinas Loses to Jordan (Highlights Video):
Jordanian Nationalized player Rondae Hollis-Jefferson lived up to Gilas’ projections and fears of the coaching staff, as he scored a team-high 24 points. He was well supported by Jordanian mainstay and big man Freddie Ibrahim, a World Cup team member, who scored 17 points for Jordan.
The Jordan basketball team secured the top spot of Group C in the group phase of the Asian Games with a perfect 3-0 record.
Aside from Justin Brownlee and Scottie Thompson, Gilas Pilipinas’ big men, June Mar Fajardo and Japeth Aguilar provided some additional scoring with eight points each.
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