Heroic Brownlee relieved as Gilas denies huge Iran comeback: ‘Never say die, right?’

MANILA, Philippines – By the skin of its teeth, Gilas Pilipinas survived a massive comeback by Iran from 17 points down in the fourth quarter and earned a 19th Asian Games semifinal berth by a single point, 84-83, in Zhejiang, China, on Tuesday, October 3.

In a frantic endgame that saw the Iranians even briefly take an 81-80 lead after trailing 54-71, it was the heroics of six-time PBA MVP June Mar Fajardo and naturalized star import Justin Brownlee that barely pushed the Philippines over the edge and into its first Asian Games semifinal round in 21 years.

It was only right that Brownlee had a final say in the outcome, as it was him who led the Gilas rally on offense with 36 big points – 16 coming in the first quarter alone and 15 in the third. When the dust had settled, the weary 35-year-old forward could only utter a short, but familiar line.

“It feels great. Never say die, right?” mused the Ginebra fan favorite. “We just kept fighting.”

Although head coach Tim Cone had all the right to nitpick more things that went wrong in Gilas’ squandering of a comfortable 21-point second-half cushion, 62-41, the 25-time PBA champion just chalked it up to the ebb and flow of an elite international field.

“In the international game, things can turn on a dime, and this did in the fourth quarter,” Cone said. “Luckily we had a big lead. We should have never put ourselves in that position, but that’s the way these kinds of games are.”

“I think we did a good job in the first three quarters, but when they threw a wrench into our plans with that box-and-one [defensive scheme], we just kind of struggled,” he continued. “I think the Iranian coach did a great job bringing his team back.”

Brownlee, Cone, and the rest of Gilas will need to quickly move on and learn from this quarterfinal heart-stopper as an all too familiar foe, host country China, awaits on Wednesday, October 4, 8 pm, one month after the two nations’ blockbuster FIBA World Cup classification match back in the Philippines.

With no Jordan Clarkson for Gilas nor Kyle Anderson for China this time to save the day, the two sides will have to rework their outlook against each other as a whole new game complexion awaits in Zhejiang. – Rappler.com