Gilas Pilipinas unleashed an explosive second half to erase a huge deficit and eke out a 103-98 win against the Macau Black Bears in a friendly game on Monday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The Filipinos leaned on spark plug CJ Perez and usual suspects Justin Brownlee, Dwight Ramos, and AJ Edu to turn a 21-point deficit late in the second period into a five-point victory.

Brownlee led the way with 32 points, including 15 in the fourth quarter, while also grabbing 15 rebounds, five assists, one steal, and one block while Ramos churned out 19 markers, four boards, six dimes, two steals, and one block. 

“We had to play defense. We came out and gave up 63 points in the first half. They surprised us by their ability to shoot the ball and we didn’t know their players,” Gilas Pilipinas head coach Tim Cone said.

“I give credit to the guys. They made a decision at halftime that they were gonna come out and defend [in the second half].”

Staring at a 63-46 deficit at the break, Gilas decided to turn to CJ Perez in their comeback attempt. And the San Miguel guard, who was just coming off a championship days ago, delivered. 

Perez and Ramos connived at the third period alongside big man Edu before Scottie Thompson buried a three-pointer that sliced their gap to just two before heading to the fourth, 79-81. 

Brownlee then took over in the fourth, firing a corner three-pointer to give the Philippines its first taste of the lead at 84-83 before knocking down another pair of triples that made it a 90-85 cushion. 

The Black Bears tried to mount a fightback with Archibald Amorie Anthony and William Douglas fueling a 7-0 rampage to pull within a solitary point with 3:58 left. 

Brownlee completed a three-point play before nailing another long bomb from downtown, pushing Gilas’ lead to 101-94 in the final 1:41 as Edu sealed it with another slam. 

The exhibition game served as part of Gilas Pilipinas’ final preparations for the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup slated early next month.

—JKC, GMA Integrated News