Gilas Pilipinas upsets Latvia in Fiba Olympic Qualifiers

Dwight Ramos of Gilas Pilipinas battles for ball possession against a player from Latvia. | FIBA photo

Justin Brownlee had 26 points, nine rebounds and nine assists to help the Gilas Pilipinas hold off a late charge and upset Latvia, 89-80, in Group A of the Fiba Olympic Qualifying tournament on Thursday, July 4, 2024.

Gilas Pilipinas, ranked no. 37 in the world, pounced on Latvia’s early shooting woes to  take down the world No. 6 and host Latvia.

The win was the Philippines’ first against a European team in an official Fiba competition since 1960.

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The Philippines’ Kai Sotto  added 18 points and eight rebounds against Latvia, which, at one point, trailed by 26 points.

Justin Brownlee of the Philippines celebrates with his teammates in a game against Latvia. | FIBA photo

Latvia cut what was a 21-point fourth-quarter deficit to 10 with 1:21 remaining but the Philippines settled down and was able to close it out.

Rodions Kurucs led Latvia with 18 points.

Gilas Pilipinas is in the driver’s seat to win the group and advance to the knockout stage when it plays Georgia on Thursday. Latvia beat Georgia, 83-55, on Tuesday.

“I’m totally shocked to be sitting in front of you guys after winning this basketball game. This is not something we thought we were gonna do, I’ll be honest with you,” said Gilas coach Tim Cone in an interview with Inquirer.net.

“We wanted to come in and compete and really put on a good show. We got started early. We hit shots early. And thankfully Latvia missed shots.”