Justin Brownlee takes over in Gilas' comeback

Justin Brownlee saves the day once again.

The Philippine men’s national basketball team earned a measure of revenge by defeating Indonesia, 84-76, at the 32nd Southeast Asian Games at the Morodok Elephant Hall 2 in Cambodia on Monday

Barangay Ginebra’s resident import delivered 34 points, nine rebounds, and five assists to lift Gilas Pilipinas in their semifinal match-up against Indonesia.

Down by double digits in the majority of the first half, Gilas rallied back in the third quarter and even got the lead, 49-47, after a dunk by Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser.

The Indonesians quickly went on a scoring run to reclaim the lead heading into the final frame after a buzzer-beating deuce by Brandon Jawato, and a Lester Prosper three-pointer in the 7:05 mark of the fourth brought Indonesia’s lead back to seven, 71-64.

But Justine Brownlee went berserk towards the end of the match, scoring two three-pointers to reclaim the lead, 76-74 with only 3:04 remaining in the game.

This sparked a 20-5 run from the Filipinos who avoided being relegated to their first-ever battle-for-bronze match.

Indonesia, who scored an 85-81 upset against the Filipinos in the 31st SEA Games to dethrone them as the kings of Southeast Asian Basketball, is set to face Thailand for the bronze medal of the tournament.

Gilas is up for a rematch tomorrow against Cambodia who defeated them during the group stage, 79-68, last Thursday.

For more stories on the 32nd Southeast Asian Games, click here.