The Philippine national men’s basketball team remained poised down the stretch to outlast Jordan, 75-70, and end its 2017 FIBA Asia Cup campaign on a high note on Sunday at Nouhad Nawfal Stadium in Beirut, Lebanon.
With the win, Gilas Pilipinas salvaged seventh place in the tournament.
Terrence Romeo and Matthew Wright scored 13 points apiece and also came up with clutch plays to stave off a late rally by Jordan which led in the final minutes of the game.
Gilas Pilipinas held a 35-27 halftime advantage after an 8-0 finishing kick to the second period.
But Jordan remained in the game thanks to the hot shooting of Mousa Alawadi who sparked a 7-0 run to make it a two-point game, 38-36.
The Jordanians stood toe-to-toe with Gilas Pilipinas for the remainder of the game, with Alawadi sinking a triple to tie the game at 65-all with just 2:50 left.
Ahmad Alhamarsheh then fired a triple, and Alawadi followed it up with a layup to punctuate Jordan’s 11-0 run that handed them a 70-65 edge with 1:47 left.
But Romeo came to the rescue. After a June Mar Fajardo split, the explosive guard nailed a triple to pull Gilas Pilipinas within one point, 70-69.
The GlobalPort Batang Pier star found Japeth Aguilar for an easy two to give the lead back to the Filipinos, 71-70, with 21 seconds left.
Romeo also forced a backing violation against Jordan in the next possession, leading to a foul on Wright who nailed two free throws.
RR Pogoy capped the win with a steal and a fastbreak finish.
It was not all roses for Gilas Pilipinas though, as Jayson Castro was forced to exit the game in the fourth quarter after feeling pain in his knee following a collision with a Jordan player.
Gilas Pilipinas, which didn’t have enough preparation time ahead of the tournament, compiled a 4-2 record. Apart from Jordan, the Filipinos beat China, Iraq and Qatar in the group stages. Their losses came against South Korea in the quarterfinals and host Lebanon in the classification phase.
