YIGO VILLAGE (Guam) - The Philippines handed Guam a rude welcome by way of an 87-46 whipping to start off their FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 Asian Qualifiers campaign on a rousing note, Friday night.
Buoyed by the Filipino crowd that filled the Calvo Fieldhouse, Gilas got their groove on in the second chapter before breaking away wide in the third canto on the way to registering the massive 41-point victory.
Key players
Justin Brownlee showed the way with 22 points, 17 of which he made in the first half as he powered the aforementioned turnaround. He also had 2 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals - all without a turnover.
Dwight Ramos was the only other double-digit scorer for Team Philippines with 10 points alongside 6 rebounds, but that wasn't a problem whatsoever as all 12 players contributed at least 2 points in the conquest.
Turning point
The same tandem was crucial in their second-quarter surge, helping put together the crucial 7-0 run together with Kevin Quiambao that turned a one-point Guam lead to a 31-25 advantage with 3:43 remaining.
And that rally proved to be what Gilas needed to swing the momentum in their favor for good. They went on to finish the period with a 16-5 scoring spree in total to head into the intermission owning a 40-29 lead.
So dominant were the squad that they only held the home team to just a mere 7 points in the following frame while they manufactured 24, thus entering the game's final 10 minutes with an insurmountable 64-36 lead.
Stats don't lie
The Philippines hauled down 62 rebounds, which is now the new Asian Qualifiers record and tied for second-most in World Cup Qualifiers history. They were two shy of tying the all-time mark (63) set by Congo and Angola.
Bottomline
With the win, Gilas have joined Australia as the early winners in Group A. The Boomers chalked up theirs following an 84-79 escape versus New Zealand, made possible by a late dagger by Davo Hickey from beyond the arc.
They said
"I came in with a lot of trepidation but we did know that they lost three players from the Asia Cup, so we knew they're a little short-handed. Still, that didn't stop us from having a lot of trepidation ... but towards the end of the first half, we kinda got our rhythm. Came out in the second half and defended pretty well, and stretched the lead, and that ended up being the game." - Tim Cone, Head Coach, Philippines
"We knew that this would be a very tough game, traveling on the road. It's always tough. Luckily, we got the W tonight and it's for our kababayans."- Scottie Thompson, Point Guard, Philippines
"We want to play at this level, we believe that we belong at this level of basketball, and we've earned the right to play here. But this is what you're gonna encounter. You're gonna encounter a team with not only quality players but just a lot of experience, so whatever we threw at them, they handled pretty well. I think on the flip note, we need to regroup. We know we can do better." - EJ Calvo, Head Coach, Guam
"Respect to the Philippines. That's a proven team that showed us what they're about, and showed us how much work we have to do. But just like Coach said, we truly do believe that we belong at this level. We know we have all the pieces, it's just about getting better, it's just about execution." - Jonathan Galloway, Forward, Guam
FIBA