Gilas Pilipinas eked out a 74-71 win against Qatar to open its series of friendly matches in the Doha International Cup on Saturday (Philippine time) at the QU Sports & Events Complex in Doha.

The Philippines trailed by 11, 60-49, late in the third period before free throws from June Mar Fajardo put Gilas within nine by the end of the said frame.

Qatar limited the Philippines to 13 points against 20 in the third quarter after the host country led 40-38 after the first half.

The deciding frame, however, was a different story for Gilas.

Qatar was leading 66-58 with less than eight minutes left in the fourth period. Justin Brownlee, who was struggling in the first three quarters, then made a personal 5-0 run as he sank two free throws and completed a three-point play to put the Philippines within three with around five minutes left.

AJ Edu, who joined the nationals since missing the previous windows of the FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers, then made a dunk to cap the Philippines’ 7-0 run and trim the deficit, 66-65.

Mike Lewis then pulled up for a triple, but Dwight Ramos answered with his own jumper. This started Gilas’ late rally as Edu made one from the free throw line, then a Brownlee jam handed the Philippines a 70-69 lead. Ramos then drilled his own triple to put Gilas in front, 72-69, with less than two minutes left.

Tyler James Lee Harris’ basket put Qatar within one with 20 seconds left, but Scottie Thompson’s freebies sealed the victory for the Philippines.

Gilas outscored Qatar, 23-11, in the fourth period to claim the victory.

Ramos made three out of five 3-pt attempts en route to a 15-point outing to lead Gilas, while June Mar Fajardo had 12 points, seven boards, and two assists. Brownlee still managed to get 10 points, nine of which came from the final period, while his Barangay Ginebra teammate Scottie Thompson added his own 10 points.

Harris led Qatar with 17 points, while Lewis scored 15 points.

Gilas will take on Lebanon next on Saturday at 11 p.m.

The Doha friendlies are part of the national team’s preparation for the February window of the FIBA Asia Cup and the FIBA Asia Cup in August.

—JKC, GMA Integrated News