Gilas secures semis berth despite close loss vs Georgia

MANILA, Philippines – Gilas Pilipinas is off to the semifinals of the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Riga, Latvia despite losing to Georgia, 96-94, Thursday night (Manila time). 

Before the game, a Gilas defeat by less than 18 points would have given the semifinal slot to Georgia. 

The Philippines made the most of it, but they made sure to put up a fight, with Justin Brownlee leading the Nationals with 28 points. 

Georgia led by seven, 90-83, in the fourth quarter with a tip-in by Goga Bitadze.

CJ Perez then went alive, moving Gilas to within one, 89-90, with back-to-back 3-pointers. 

It all but wrote the conclusion, as the Nationals went shot-for-shot against their opponents down the stretch. 

Down three, 93-96, with a pair of free throws by Bitadze, Gilas had the chance to take the game to overtime, but they opted to run out the clock to assure the semifinal berth.

Chris Newsome was then fouled, making the first and missing the second, as Georgia came away with the win.

The World no. 23 basketball team led by 13 points, 64-51, with 6:38 remaining in the fourth quarter after a 3-pointer by Goga Bitadze. 

A 20-6 run capped by a pair of free throws by Dwight Ramos gave the Philippines the lead, 71-70. 

Georgia started the game waxing hot, scoring 16 straight points to kick off the crucial contest.

The Philippines then retaliated with a 13-6 run to cut the deficit to a single digit lead, 13-22. 

In the second quarter, the Georgians found their rhythm anew, taking a 20-point advantage, 40-20. 

Slowly but surely though, Gilas climbed out of the hole and eventually took the lead for the first time with Ramos' charities.

The Philippines will still wait for their opponent in the next round, as Cameroon and Brazil are set to battle it out in the final game of Group B play.