MANILA, Philippines – Gilas Pilipinas shoots for an unprecedented sweep of Group A and a spot in the final four of the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Riga, Latvia, as it locks horns with Georgia on Thursday, July 4.
Fresh from a giant upset of world No. 6 Latvia, the 37th-ranked Philippines hopes to replicate the feat against world No. 23 Georgia.
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Fourth quarter
- GEORGIA 88-83: CJ Perez with another strong drive
- GEORGIA 88-81: Duda Sanadze sinks the three-pointer over Dwight Ramos
- GEORGIA 85-81: Sandro Mamukelashvili and-one with 6 minutes left
- GEORGIA 82-81: Sandro Mamukelashvili capitalizes on the second chance
- GILAS PILIPINAS 81-80: CJ Perez lays it in
- GEORGIA 80-79: Joe Thomasson scores
- GILAS PILIPINAS 79-78: Calvin Oftana splits his charity shots
- 78-78: Carl Tamayo with another equalizing bucket
- GEORGIA 78-76: Japeth Aguilar two-handed flush
- GEORGIA 78-74: Duda Sanadze completes the fast break
- GEORGIA 76-74: Goga Bitadze 2/2 with his foul shots
Third quarter
- END OF 3Q: From 20 points down, Gilas Pilipinas storms back and ties Georgia at 74-74
- 74-74: Justin Brownlee knots the score as he gets the shooter’s roll on his trey
- GEORGIA 74-71: Sandro Mamukelashvili for three
- 71-71: Tornike Shengelia misses the first but makes the second free throw
- GILAS PILIPINAS 71-70: First lead for PH as Dwight Ramos goes 2/2 at the stripe
- GEORGIA 70-69: Gilas Pilipinas slices through the Georgia defense for the deuce
- GEORGIA 70-67: Duda Sanadze regains the lead for his side with a triple
- 67-67: Carl Tamayo for three as Gilas Pilipinas ties it up!
- GEORGIA 67-64: Gilas Pilipinas within a single possession after that Carl Tamayo shot
- GEORGIA 67-62: Dwight Ramos for three off a Justin Brownlee dime
- GEORGIA 67-59: Justin Brownlee grabs the offensive rebound and sinks the putback
- GEORGIA 67-57: Chris Newsome with another strong finish
- GEORGIA 67-55: Rati Andronikashvili from long distance
- GEORGIA 64-55: Justin Brownlee flips it in
- GEORGIA 64-53: Chris Newsome gets the bounce on his drive
- GEORGIA 64-51: Goga Bitadze left open for the corner trey
- GEORGIA 61-51: Justin Brownlee tough shot
- GEORGIA 61-49: Goga Bitadze two-handed flush
- GEORGIA 59-49: Justin Brownlee swishes the three-pointer
- GEORGIA 59-46: Tornike Shengelia dunk
- GEORGIA 57-46: Sandro Mamukelashvili bucket
- GEORGIA 55-46: Dwight Ramos knocks down the trey
Second quarter
- HALFTIME: Georgia enters the break with a 55-43 lead, needing to beat Gilas Pilipinas by at least 19 points to advance to the knockout round
- GEORGIA 55-43: Duda Sanadze for three
- GEORGIA 52-43: June Mar Fajardo ices his freebies
- GEORGIA 52-41: Goga Bitadze short stab
- GEORGIA 50-41: Tornike Shengelia on fire as he makes the triple
- GEORGIA 47-41: Chris Newsome again
- GEORGIA 47-39: Tornike Shengelia putback
- GEORGIA 45-39: Dwight Ramos with his second three-pointer
- GEORGIA 45-36: Tornike Shengelia inside
- GEORGIA 43-36: Gilas Pilipinas within 7 points after that Chris Newsome jump shot
- GEORGIA 43-34: Justin Brownlee answers with his long bomb from the top of the key
- GEORGIA 43-31: Sandro Mamukelashvili drains the corner trey
- GEORGIA 40-31: June Mar Fajardo back-to-back buckets
- GEORGIA 40-29: June Mar Fajardo tip in off a Justin Brownlee miss
- GEORGIA 40-27: Calvin Oftana from long range for his first basket of the tournament
- GEORGIA 40-24: Justin Brownlee hits the bank shot
- GEORGIA 40-22: Kai Sotto scores, but he endures a bad fall
- GEORGIA 40-20: Joe Thomasson for three
- GEORGIA 37-29: Chris Newsome 1/2 at the stripe
- GEORGIA 37-19: Tornike Shengelia flushes home the one-handed jam
- GEORGIA 35-19: Joe Thomasson drains the midrange jumper
- GEORGIA 33-19: Tornike Shengelia continues to attack the paint
- GEORGIA 31-19: CJ Perez with his first basket
- GEORGIA 31-17: Sandro Mamukelashvili opens the second quarter with a triple
First quarter
- END OF 1Q: Georgia off to a hot start as it enjoys a 28-17 lead
- GEORGIA 28-17: Tornike Shengelia and-one
- GEORGIA 25-17: Justin Brownlee pulls Gilas Pilipinas within single digits with a pair of free throws
- GEORGIA 25-15: Justin Brownlee switches hands for the lefty layup
- GEORGIA 25-13: Sandro Mamukelashvili retaliates with his own triple
- GEORGIA 22-13: Dwight Ramos dials from long distance
- GEORGIA 22-10: Goga Bitadze answers
- GEORGIA 20-10: Kai Sotto scores as Goga Bitadze called for the goaltending
- GEORGIA 20-8: Duda Sanadze 2/2 at the line
- GEORGIA 18-8: Justin Brownlee sinks the jump shot
- GEORGIA 18-6: Sandro Mamukelashvili converts the reverse alley-oop
- GEORGIA 16-6: Chris Newsome from deep
- GEORGIA 16-3: Justin Brownlee puts Gilas Pilipinas on the board with triple
- GEORGIA 16-0: Goga Bitadze with another dunk
- GEORGIA 14-0: Sandro Mamukelashvili gets the lucky bounce on his trey
- GEORGIA 11-0: Joe Thomasson for three as Gilas Pilipinas remains scoreless
- GEORGIA 8-0: Goga Bitadze with his second bucket
- GEORGIA 6-0: Rati Andronikashvili strong drive
- GEORGIA 4-0: Joe Thomasson jumper is good
- GEORGIA 2-0: Goga Bitadze dunk
Starters
- GILAS PILIPINAS – Justin Brownlee, Dwight Ramos, Kai Sotto, June Mar Fajardo, Chris Newsome
- GEORGIA – Rati Andronikashvili, Sandro Mamukelashvili, Tornike Shengelia, Joe Thomasson, Goga Bitadze
Preview
The stunner gave the Philippines its first win over a European country in an official FIBA competition in over six decades.
Another victory will see the Nationals finish as the top seed in Group A and reach the crossover semifinals to face the second seed from Group B, which includes Brazil, Montenegro, and Cameroon.
Justin Brownlee is expected to be a marked man after he torched the Latvians to the tune of 26 points, 9 rebounds, and 9 assists.
So he needs all the help he can get from the rest of the team, with Kai Sotto, June Mar Fajardo, Dwight Ramos, and Chris Newsome looking to reprise their roles as they all scored in twin digits to give Brownlee ample support.
The Georgians, meanwhile, bank on their formidable frontline featuring NBA players Sandro Mamukelashvili of the San Antonio Spurs and Goga Bitadze of the Orlando Magic.
Mamukelashvili paced Georgia in its 83-55 loss to Latvia with 14 points and 4 rebounds, while Bitadze supplied 7 points, 6 rebounds, 2 blocks, and 2 steals.
With a win, the Philippines will advance along with Latvia in the knockout stage.
A Gilas defeat will result in a three-way tie in Group A, but the Philippines can still advance if it loses no more than 18 points against Georgia.
Game time is 8:30 pm (Manila time). – Rappler.com