Brownlee went for it and looked unstoppable in several plays.
“I lost hope all the way through, until the last 30 seconds or last 23 seconds. I presumed we’re gonna lose that game, but the good news is, even though I lost hope, the players didn’t and they kept battling back. They were amazing, I give credit to them,” Cone added.
Before that, the Philippines also won over Iran by a hairline, 84-83, in the quarterfinals.
With just one win to go to put an end to the Philippines’ 61-year Asian Games title drought in basketball, only one team is standing in the way — Jordan.
The Jordanians, led by naturalized player and 2022-23 PBA Governors’ Cup Best Import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, thrashed the Filipinos, 87-62, during the close of their group play last Saturday.
The 28-year-old Hollis-Jefferson registered all-around numbers of 24 points, nine assists and six rebounds in Jordan’s 25-point carnage of the Philippines in the group stage.
Jordan marched into the gold medal round still unscathed after sweeping Group C, which also included lopsided wins over Thailand, 97-63, and Bahrain, 84-60.
The West Asian squad then hammered Saudi Arabia, 76-57, in the quarterfinals before rolling past Chinese Taipei, 90-71, in the semis to advance in the Asian Games finals for the first time in the country’s history.
Jordan’s best finish was fourth in 1986 and 2006.
The Philippines, though, is determined to end the country’s string of heartbreaks in the Asian Games, while riding on its three-game win streak that included victories over Qatar (80-41), Iran and China.