Gilas Pilipinas shocks world no. 6 Latvia in strong FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament opener

Kai Sotto and Justin Brownlee formed a deadly one-two punch as Gilas Pilipinas pulled off an 89-80 shocker against world no. 6 Latvia in the 2024 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament on early Thursday (Manila time) in Riga, Latvia. 

Brownlee flirted with a triple-double outing with a team-high 26 markers along with nine rebounds, nine assists, one steal, and one block, while the 7-foot-3 Sotto impressed with 18 markers on top of eight boards, one dime, and one block. 

The Filipinos are now in a good position after improving to 1-0 in Group A, but still have to win their next game against Georgia later tonight at 8:30 p.m. to advance to the semifinals. Only the winner of the OQT will earn the highly-coveted Paris Olympics ticket. 

Gilas caught fire right away with a hot 8-0 start and even led by as many as 18 early in the second period with the troika of Sotto, June Mar Fajardo, and Brownlee causing headaches for the hosts by bringing Gilas to a 36-18 lead. 

Latvia showed resistance late in the frame, unloading an 18-9 rampage that sliced the gap to a single digit at 36-45. But thanks to Brownlee's hot hands, Gilas was still in full control at the break with a 54-38 cushion.

A Dwight Ramos triple pushed Gilas' lead to 26 late in the third canto before CJ Perez, whose buzzer beater three-pointer capped an impressive first quarter for Gilas, buried his own long bomb to make it a 77-56 advantage for the visitors ahead of the final quarter. 

Rallying in front of the home crowd, Latvia once again mounted a fightback after cutting the deficit to 10 before Brownlee completed a crucial four-point play chance to bring them to an 85-71 lead with 3:29 to go. 

Another jumper from Rihards Lomazs saw Latvia trailing by just eight, 77-85, but Gilas banked on the four straight free throws from Chris Newsome and Ramos to ice the game despite a late triple from Davis Bertans. 

Latvia parades the same core that represented the country during its campaign at the 2023 FIBA World Cup, where Latvia had a surprise fifth place finish. Yesterday, Latvia dominated Georgia with an 83-55 victory. 

—JKC, GMA Integrated News