Chinese Taipei repeats over Gilas Men in painful Asia Cup opener

August 6 ------ Chinese Taipei continued to get the better of Gilas Pilipinas, notching a second win in six months over the Philippines with a stunning 95-87 victory to open the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup at the King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

After going winless against the Philippines for 12 years, Chinese Taipei leaned on the 34-point explosion of Yin-Chun Chen built on 6-of-8 shooting from beyond the arc to claim two straight victories over Gilas, following their 91-84 triumph during the final window of the Asia Cup qualifiers last February 20. The loss dealt a tough start to the Philippines’ bid to end a 40-year Asia Cup title drought, as Gilas struggled with a lethargic start, foul trouble, and offensive inconsistency throughout the contest.

The Filipinos fell behind 8-25 in the first quarter and spent the rest of the game trying to climb out of the hole. Despite showing flashes of life and a spirited rally led by Kevin Quiambao in the fourth quarter, the early collapse proved too costly. “Obviously, we didn’t play a very good game. I’m disappointed with the way we performed. We got behind early and were on our heels the entire way. It felt like we were in panic mode for all 40 minutes,” Philippines head coach Tim Cone said.

Quiambao sparked Gilas’ last push, scoring 10 straight points capped by a step-back three that trimmed the deficit to just 74-80 with 4:49 left. But any hopes of a full comeback were dashed when Justin Brownlee, who had been in foul trouble since the third quarter, fouled out with 4:31 remaining.

Brownlee’s absence in the crucial minutes proved pivotal, especially after his strong first-half performance where he tallied 16 points, six rebounds, and an assist. Without him, Gilas struggled to keep pace with the more composed Taipei side in the endgame. Reeling from a 16-27 first quarter showing, Gilas rallied behind timely hits from the trio of Scottie Thompson, Chris Newsome, and AJ Edu to trim the deficit to just four points at 32-36 in the second frame. That would be the closest that the Philippines would come by as Chinese Taipei responded with a more composed and balanced showing in the third frame to keep Gilas at bay with a 71-59 lead heading into the payoff period. “If Chinese-Taipei continues to play the way they did and keep making the shots they’re making, they’re one of the teams that can contend for a medal. They playing high-level basketball and are very well-coached. Honestly, they outcoached us tonight—it was a disappointing performance on my part. This loss really hurts. Let’s see what we can do to bounce back and move forward, because that’s the only thing we can do at this point,” Cone added.

The loss dropped the Philippines to the bottom of Group D, joining Iraq, which also lost its opener in a 78-100 rout against New Zealand. Brownlee ended the night with 19 points on 8-of-15 shooting with seven rebounds and two assists, while Quiambao was a major silver lining by scoring all his 17 points in the second half alongside four rebounds. Thompson provided an all-around effort of 16 points, seven rebounds, five assists, and one steal, while Ramos also impressed in the second half with 16 points, six assists, four rebounds, and one steal.

Playing in their first full tournament without main center Kai Sotto, AJ Edu showed promise with eight points and 12 rebounds, while June Mar Fajardo was limited to two points on 1-of-3 shooting and three turnovers. Gilas now faces an uphill climb, with a must-win showdown against powerhouse New Zealand looming on Thursday at 11 p.m. (Philippine time) — a game that could make or break their playoff hopes.

On the other hand, Chinese Taipei jumped to an early share of the Group D lead alongside New Zealand, sharing identical 1-0 cards. Naturalized player Brandon Gilbeck tallied 16 points on a perfect 4-of-4 shooting with nine rebounds, while Robert Hinton and Ting-Chien Lin added 14 points in the winning effort.

The Scores:

Chinese Taipei 95 – Chen 34, Gilbeck 16, Lin 14, Hinton R. 14, Gadiaga 5, Hinton A. 4, Tseng 4, Ma 3, Hu 1, Liu 0, Gao 0, Chen 0.

Philippines 87 – Brownlee 19, Quiambao 17, Ramos 16, Thompson 16, Edu 8, Oftana 6, Newsome 3, Fajardo 2, Perez 0, Aguilar 0, Tamayo 0.

Quarterscores: 16-27, 34-43, 62-73, 87-95.

Source: tiebreakertimes.com.ph