The Philippines’ surprise victory over New Zealand late Thursday night not only ended a series of defeats against the strong Asia-Oceania team, but also gave the national program an opportunity to further develop its younger players.
The 93-89 upset, which thrilled a packed crowd at the Mall of Asia Arena, gave Gilas Pilipinas its third straight victory in as many Fiba Asia Cup qualifying games and paved the way for the Filipinos to face another duel with the listless Hong Kong next Sunday.
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Against a weaker opponent whose chances of progressing are almost nil, the Philippines can now shift into a lower gear and give players who barely saw any action against the Tall Blacks a chance to shine.
This includes Ange Kouame, the other naturalized player who could be activated for the game, which will once again be played at the Bayside Arena in Pasay City.
“Ange is one of our naturalized players. But we can only use one naturalized player at a time, which means he can only replace Justin,” said national coach Tim Cone in a recent interview.
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Brownlee scored 26 points and 11 rebounds in the win against New Zealand, while Kai Sotto contributed a total of 19 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, building a third-quarter lead that allowed the Filipinos to break out of a tied game and take the lead nine points ahead in the fourth round.
Another win
But it was guard Chris Newsome who came out strong in the closing stages, defusing a late New Zealand run with a dagger triple and coming up with a crucial steal towards the end.
The Philippines can qualify for the Asian Cup with another win against Hong Kong, where a Kouame appearance could allow the former Ateneo star to regain his confidence and bond with his teammates with whom he has not yet played has to reinstate in an official game since the golden romp at the Asian Games in Hangzhou last year.
“Ange will only make everything we do better. He’s a hard worker, he puts it into practice every day,” Cone said. “He will make us all better. We would like to have Ange with us for as long as he wants.
“We need him there so that he can intervene immediately if necessary. He is also one of the few players who can beat June Mar (Fajardo) heart and soul and prepare June Mar to play against bigger players, which is very important for us.”
The Philippines beat Hong Kong 94-64 in an away game in February.
Aside from Kouame, another player who could receive more attention in the return game against the Chinese is Mason Amos, the young star who is completing his redshirt year for La Salle.
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Amos was barely used during Olympic qualifying in Riga, Latvia, and even Cone has spoken openly about missing the chance.
“We’re hoping we can take advantage of that in this next tournament rather than, you know, having different players and having to teach them again. Now it’s about expanding the players’ knowledge,” said Cone.