Gilas Pilipinas pulled off a major shock, stunning Latvia, 89-80, on their home court to begin their campaign in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Riga.
The victory marked the first time in over six decades that the Philippines defeated a European team in an official FIBA competition since edging Spain, 84-82, at the 1960 Rome Olympics.
The Latvian fans were completely taken aback by what they saw as the Filipino ballers rejoiced at center court, especially after they completely destroyed Georgia in their opening game.
‘Totally shocked’
On the eve of their match against Latvia, Gilas Pilipinas head coach Tim Cone persuaded his team that a potential defeat to the world No. 6 team Latvia should not dampen their dreams of winning the Olympic Qualifying Tournament.
“We’re not here to win a game. We’re here to win a tournament, to win the whole thing,” said Cone.
However, the Nationals no longer have to believe that it's an unlikely undertaking. The upset win proved the team is made for the challenge.
“I’m totally shocked to be sitting in front of you guys after winning this basketball game,” said Cone during the post-game press conference. “This is not something we thought we’re going to do, I’ll be honest with you.”
“We wanted to come in and compete and really put on a good show. We got started early. We hit shots early. And thankfully, Latvia missed shots.”
Team effort
In his debut FIBA matchup vs a European team, Justin Brownlee turned in a near triple-double consisting of 26 points, 9 rebounds, and 9 assists. With 3:29 left in the game, he made a critical four-point play to increase the advantage to 14 points, 85-71, a cushion large enough to help Gilas hold on to the victory.
Kai Sotto had possibly his greatest game as a Gilas player with 18 points, eight rebounds, and 70% shooting from the field while June Mar Fajardo scored 11 points in just six attempts.
Together, Dwight Ramos and Chris Newsome scored 22 points as they made clutch free throws in the closing seconds.
Ruling the tournament would mean the Philippines will advance to the Paris Olympics next month for the first time since the 1972 Munich Games.
