By: 
Tainan, Taiwan – Gilas Pilipinas stuns the crowd as they beat the host team with a final score of 89-80 in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Arena Riga in Latvia on July 4 (Taiwan Time) to end the 64 year drought for winning against European team in FIBA Tournament.
Gilas Pilipinas upset Latvia in the 2024 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Riga. Photo from FIBA.
Gilas Pilipinas stuns the world no. 6 rank who played without their superstar newly-crowned NBA champion Kristap Porzingis due to injury.. Gilas opened the game with an 8-0 run and hold the host team with 32-16 advantage in the first quarter.
Justine Brownlee led the Phiippines with almost triple double, he finished with 26 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists
Latvia did not lead in the game and were down by 48-74 with under 3 minutes in the 3rd quarter. Latvia managed to cut the deficit with 81-71 under 4 minutes in the final quarter, but Brownlee hit a triple to extend the led.
Kai Sotto also added 18 points and 8 rebounds, shooting 7-10 in the game.
Next game of Philippines is today against the Georgian team who loss (83-55) against Latvia. Gilas Pilipinas could still reach the final four even if they loss against the Georgians, as long as they can prevent a 37-point turnaround in the standings.
