BY: REYNALD MAGALLON
Fans braved through the bad weather and came in droves expecting a thriller. Gilas Pilipinas gave them a game to remember.
The Nationals weathered the hot start from Jordan and then leaned on heroics of CJ Perez, Kevin Quiambao and Kai Sotto to hack out a much-needed 82-81 overtime victory in the 2027 FIBA World Cup Asia Qualifiers at the Mall of Asia Arena on Friday, Aug. 28.
With the game tied, 79-all, Quiambao nailed a booming triple with 11.7 seconds left to put Gilas back on the driver seat before Sotto got the game preserving block on Abdullah Olajuwon just as the shot clock expired.
Perez took charge for Gilas in the final frame and overtime, scoring all of his 16 points during that stretch while Sotto announced his return to national duty with 18 points, 14 rebounds and two blocks.
Quiambao and Dwight Ramos chipped in 14 as Gilas improved to a 3-4 record in the Group E standings.
