By REYNALD MAGALLON
Fans raved 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 while Jordan slid to a 5-2 record.
Gilas found itself trailing early, 26-8 behind the blistering shooting of the Falcons, who had 10 triples in the first half. The Nationals got their bearings going with a small lineup with Carl Tamayo playing the four and Quiambao taking the three spot.
Sotto also came alive in the second quarter before Tamayo nailed a triple to cut the Gilas deficit to just five, 39-44.
Gilas took a 51-46 lead but Jordan regained its footing and restored 58-54 lead.
Perez, however, took over in the final frame and spearheaded the offense for Gilas. He even had the shot to win it in regulation but missed it, sending the game to overtime.
Freddy Ybrahim paced the Falcons with 22 points while naturalized player Jalen Harris added 19.
