LIVE UPDATES: Gilas Pilipinas target FIBA Asia Cup 2025 quarterfinals vs host Saudi Arabia

Gilas Pilipinas are heading into the FIBA Asia Cup quarterfinals after frustrating host team Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, August 12 (Manila time).

The Nationals set up a quarterfinal match against regional powerhouse Australia.

FINAL

-After a fiery start, the three-point shot abandoned Gilas until the dying seconds of regulation and the overtime period. The Filipinos shoot three from that range in the extra five minutes, the last of which came from Edu for a 90-84 Gilas lead. 

-Brownlee leads Gilas with 29 points, four rebounds, and five assists, while Quiambao and Edu add 17 points apiece

-Abdur-Rahkman and Alsuwailem finish with 33 and 26 points, respectively, for Saudi but were non-factors in the overtime

FOURTH QUARTER

-It's the same story for the Saudis, going to Alsuwailem and Abdur-Rahkman on offense, with the former scoring the putback for a 79-76 lead in the dying seconds

-Gilas erased a 69-75 deficit behind Justin Brownlee

-Brownlee hits the game-tying three-pointer over Marzouq Almuwallad, 79-all, with 3.7 ticks left

-The games goes into overtime

THIRD QUARTER

-Mohammed Alsuwailem imposes his presence early, scoring seven points in the first three minutes of action including a three-pointer to tie it at 46-all

-Alsuwailem and Abdur-Rahkman make all but one Saudi field goal in the third period

-Justin Brownlee and June Mar Fajardo were doing the damage early on before Gilas guards attack Alsuwailem multiple times, exploiting on the Saudi big being in foul trouble

-Gilas leads at the end of third, 60-59

SECOND QUARTER

-Saudi Arabia opens the quarter with three straight three-pointers, two of which came from naturalized player Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman, to erase a 10-point deficit

-CJay Perez turns his ankle in a loose ball play at the 5:52 mark. He has to be carried off to the bench

-Gilas only makes its first field goal with 5:13 remaining on Justin Brownlee's corner three-pointer to tie the scores at 29

-Gilas leads Saudi Arabia at the half, 40-37

-Kevin Quiambao proves a bright spot in the first half with 11 points so far, while Brownlee has 10 at the half

-Abdur-Rahkman scores all 14 points in the quarter built on four treys

FIRST QUARTER

-Gilas makes an early adjustment, fielding in Kevin Quiambao for June Mar Fajardo two minutes and 19 seconds into the game to push the pace and spread the floor

-Kevin Quiambao scores seven points

-Unlike in its group stage matches, Gilas is connecting from long range early, making 4-of-10 from the three-point area

-Jamie Malonzo makes his first appearance for Gilas with 15.1 ticks left

-Gilas leads Saudi at the end of the quarter, 25-15

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After dropping the FIBA Asia Cup opener against Chinese Taipei, the road was expected to be even tougher for Gilas Pilipinas.

True enough, Gilas then endured another tough loss at the hands of New Zealand and had to stage a second-half rally against Iraq just to get out of Group B. 

Now, Gilas gets the honor of drawing host Saudi Arabia in another knockout game, this time in the qualification to the quarterfinals. Win, and the Philippines will take on two-time defending champion Australia in the next round.

But with renewed confidence, the Nationals are looking to take care of business against the Saudis in their midnight clash on Tuesday, August 12 (PH time).

For live updates about the Gilas-Saudi match, refresh this page.