Gilas grinds out vs Indonesia, moves on to gold medal game

MANILA, Philippines – Justin Brownlee took over in the clutch as Gilas Pilipinas averted disaster and advanced to the gold medal match with an 84-76 win over previous tormentor Indonesia in the 32nd Southeast Asian Games at the Morodok Techo Elephant Hall 2 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia Monday.

Brownlee pumped in a game-high 32 points to power Gilas, which forged a finals showdown with a loaded Cambodia squad Tuesday. The naturalized Filipino player nailed back-to-back triples followed by another 2-pointer and a perfect pass to Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser that led to an and-one play in the game’s final minutes to give Gilas the lead and eventually the win.

Indonesia, backstopped by the towering and sweet-shooting Lester Prosper, was in the driver’s seat for most part of the game. The squad banked on Prosper, who finished with 26 points, including hitting 4-of-5 shots from the 3-point area.

But Brownlee’s first triple that started his personal 8-0 run in the closing minutes of the game gave Gilas a 74-73 lead, which increased to the end. Indonesia — the defending SEA Games champion that stunned the Philippines in the 31st eidition of the biennial meet in Hanoi two years ago — failed to catch up as Gilas sealed the win.

Ganuelas-Rosser chipped in 13 points while Arvin Tolentino added 10 for the Nationals, who avoided a worst-ever finish in the SEA Games as they historically have not gone lower than second place.

The Filipinos will try to complete their redemption bid as they try to overcome a souped-up Cambodia squad that features a handful of naturalized Americans in the finals. In their first encounter in the group stages, the host country prevailed, 79-68.

Earlier Monday, the Cambodians routed Thailand, 76-66, to seize the first finals berth.

Indonesia and Thailand, for their part, will dispute the bronze medal.