Gilas Pilipinas rallied in the second quarter to eke out a 77-76 win on Wednesday, October 4, against the hosts of the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.
Justin Brownlee scored 33 points and Scottie Thompson added 13 points for the Philippine men's basketball team to complete a comeback after trailing behind by 20 points.
Brownlee buried the back-to-back three point baskets that allowed the Filipinos to emerge victorious, and secure their first finals appearance in the Asian Games since 1990.
Zhenlin Zhang still tried to win the game for China but his shot hit the ring.
Rui Zhao finished with 18 points while Mingxuan Hu, Junlong Zhu, and Zhelin Wang all chipped in 10 points for China that got relegated to the bronze medal match against Chinese Taipei.
Gilas Pilipinas will face Jordan in the gold-medal match on Friday, October 6.
Aside from winning the title, the Filipinos will also seek to avenge their 87-62 loss at the hands of Jordan, led by Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, in the group stage of the tournament.
