ALMOST but not enough for Gilas Pilipinas.

With naturalized Filipino Justin Brownlee leading the way with 41 points, the Filipinos battled back from a huge 25-point deficit before falling 90-91 to Jordan in the FIBA World Cup Asian qualifiers at the Philippine Arena in Bulacan last Monday.

Brownlee, who endeared himself to Filipino basketball fans with his never-say-die attitude, led Gilas’ fight back after trailing 16-41 in the second quarter.

The 34-year-old import of crowd favorite Barangay Ginebra even put the Filipinos to within 90-91 with a basket with still 1:23 remaining.

But it was simply not meant to be.

After Jamie Malonzo tied the score at 88-all with a dunk with 1:48 left, Jordan quickly took the lead back at 91-88.

And after Brownlee made it 90-91, Gilas Pilipinas found itself with another chance — two chances, actually.– to steal the game.

But Brownlee’s Ginebra teammate, Scottie Thompson, missed two pressure-packed free throws with 30 seconds remaining and Bobby Ray Parks flubbed the game-winner with two seconds left.

Brownlee, who scored 29 points in the second half, actually went 16-of-26 shooting in 35 minutes of action while adding 12 rebounds and three assists.

Malonzo added 11 points and five rebounds, while Jordan Heading and Thompson had nine points each and Parks chipped in eight points for coach Chot Reyes.

Dar Tucker led Jordan’s victory with a double-double performance of 22 points on 7-of-19 shooting on top of 12 rebounds in 30 minutes of action.

Freddy Ibrahim added 19 points and eight assists while Zaid Abbas and Sami Bzai had 10 and nine points, respectively.

The Philippines finished third in Group E with a 6-4 win-loss record behind only New Zealand (8-2) and Lebanon (7-3).

The Filipinos won over the Lebanese, 107-96, last Friday.

The scores:

Jordan (91) – Tucker 22, Ibrahim 19, Z Abbas 10, Bzai 9, Abu Hawwas 8, Alhamarsheh 8, Alhendi 6, Hussein 5, H Abbas 2, Alnajdawi 2.
Philippines (90) – Brownlee, 41, Malonzo 11, Heading 9, Thompson 9, Parks 8, Ramos 7, Perez 4, Fajardo 1, K. Ravena 0, Amos 0.
Quarterscores: 33-14; 60-41; 70-64; 91-90.