2022 ASIAN GAMES STATS | GILAS PILIPINAS VS JORDAN (OCT 6, 2023)
Over the course of the Asian Games, the Philippines has won five gold medals in men's basketball, dating back to 1951. However, the fifth gold medal came 61 years after the fourth.
The 1962 team had the likes of Caloy Loyzaga, Narciso Bernardo, Kurt Bachmann, and Big Boy Reynoso. In fact, if either of Caloy's sons, Chito or Joey, had a child who played in the PBA, that player would have retired by now.
The last gold win happened so long ago that Malaysia was still called Malaya, Sri Lanka was still known as Ceylon, there were still two Vietnams, and only 15 nations participated in the event.
During the drought, China claimed eight gold medals, while South Korea won three. Israel could have won more than two gold medals had it not been for the turmoil that would ensue whenever it participated.
The closest the Philippines would come was when they won silver in the 1990 Beijing Asiad, which was also the first time the Philippines played in the tournament with PBA players.
As mentioned, Gilas Pilipinas had a rough time leading up to the event. Chot Reyes had just tendered his irrevocable resignation, and Tim Cone couldn't get the players he wanted. But with Gilas beating China in the semifinal round, the path to the gold medal became easier.
There are several things to look at in this matchup.
For starters, Jordan manhandled Gilas in the first round, winning 87-62. And at the naturalized-player spot, it had been well documented that Rondae Hollis-Jefferson was Justin Brownlee's kryptonite.
And speaking of rivalry, I think this was the start of the backcourt rivalry between Freddy Ibrahim and Scottie Thompson. Yes, Ibrahim is the better scorer, but Thompson has the advantage when it comes to the intangibles.
So with China out of the way, a new champion would be crowned.
With JB and RHJ canceling each other out, the rest of the Gilas starters went all out to dictate the pace.
This was the first tournament in which Chris Newsome showed what he could do. Yes, he was already 33 at this point, but he did all the things needed to fill the role of that era's Jayson Castro.
And, of course, Scottie Thompson was doing Scottie Thompson things.
Thompson's offense has always been inconsistent, but in this game, he was able to at least match Ibrahim's output.
And then, because the Asian Games is a non-FIBA-sanctioned tournament, we got to use Angelo Kouame. Apart from the two other naturalized players, the former Ateneo Blue Eagle also recorded a double-double in the game.
And unlike in the China game, it felt like Jordan was there, but this time, the odds weren't exactly 50-50. Gilas managed to break away in the fourth quarter and finally give the country its first championship after four consecutive gold-medal wins from 1951 to 1962.
Anyway, here are the box scores.
GILAS PILIPINAS BEATS JORDAN | 70 - 60
BOXSCORES:
GILAS PILIPINAS | GP | MP | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | FG% | 3P% |
JUSTIN BROWNLEE | 1 | 38 | 20 | 10 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 33% | 25% |
ANGELO KOUAME | 1 | 21 | 14 | 11 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 83% | 0 |
CHRIS NEWSOME | 1 | 30 | 13 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 40% | 50% |
SCOTTIE THOMPSON | 1 | 33 | 11 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 33% | 40% |
CALVIN OFTANA | 1 | 26 | 5 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 29% | 25% |
JAPETH AGUILAR | 1 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 25% | 0 |
CJ PEREZ | 1 | 15 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 11% | 0 |
KEVIN ALAS | 1 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
JUNE MAR FAJARDO | 1 | 19 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
DNP | MARCIO LASSITER, CHRIS ROSS, ARVIN TOLENTINO
JORDAN | GP | MP | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | FG% | 3P% |
RONDAE HOLLIS-JEFFERSON | 1 | 40 | 24 | 12 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 28% | 21% |
FREDDY IBRAHIM | 1 | 39 | 13 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 29% | 30% |
AHMAD AL-DWAIRI | 1 | 30 | 8 | 15 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 22% | 0 |
AHMAD AL-HAMARSHEH | 1 | 16 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 33% | 33% |
JOHN BOHANNON | 1 | 24 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 17% | 0 |
SAMI BZAI | 1 | 36 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 25% | 25% |
MOHAMMAD HUSSEIN | 1 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 50% | 0 |
ASHRAF AL-HENDI | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
MALEK KANAAN | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
DNP | FADI QARMASH, AHMAD HAMMOURI, HASHEM ABBAS
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