Gilas Pilipinas shocked the world after defeating Latvia, 89-80, on Wednesday, July 3, at the 2024 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament.
Justin Brownlee scored 26 points and Kai Sotto added 18 points to power the Filipinos to their first win against a European team in the last 64-years.
The Philippine national men's basketball team, ranked no. 37 in the world, never let go of the lead after scoring the first eight points of the match in Riga, Latvia.
CJ Perez buried a three point basket in the waning seconds of the first quarter to widen the gap, 32-16.
The lead of Gilas Pilipinas went up to as high as 26 points, 74-48, after Dwight Ramos made a three-point basket in the middle of the third quarter.
Rodions Kurucs finished with 18, while Davis Bertans, Janis Strelnieks, and Kristers Zoriks each tallied 10 points for the first loss of Latvia, ranked no. 6 in the world, in the Olympic qualifiers.
The Philippines will seek to keep the momentum going and secure another win when the team faces Georgia, ranked no. 23 in the world, on Thursday, July 4.
