Gilas Pilipinas star Justin Brownlee against Lebanon in the 2nd Doha International Cup. Photo from Qatar Basketball Federation. MANILA — Gilas Pilipinas fell short of winning its second straight game in the 2nd Doha International Cup.
The Nationals lost their steam and fired blanks in the fourth, resulting in a 75-54 defeat against Lebanon, early Sunday morning, Manila time.

The Philippines is now 1-1 in the pocket tournament as they previously defeated home-bets Doha the day prior, 74-71. The Tim Cone-mentored squad will conclude the pocket tournament against Egypt before their brief return to the country on Monday.

Justin Brownlee led Gilas with 21 points — 15 of which came in the first half — on top of 11 rebounds, while his fellow Barangay Ginebra star Scottie Thompson scattered seven markers, 11 boards, three assists, a steal, and a block.

Gilas Pilipinas opens Doha tourney with come-from-behind win vs Qatar

Also going to work for the Nationals were Calvin Oftana, AJ Edu, and Dwight Ramos who posted 10, six, and five points, respectively.

It was a back-and-forth affair for the first 30 minutes of gameplay, with Lebanon even only holding a 51-50 advantage as Gilas got the first deuce in the fourth canto.

However, Lebanon charged a 15-to-nothing run while the Philippines went flat, and it was all the Cedars from that point on as they outscored Gilas in the whole fourth period, 24-6.

Leading Lebanon were Gerard Hadidian and Jad Khalil who both scored 18 points. Aside from this, their defense also resulted in Gilas committing 19 turnovers, and they took advantage of those errors by turning them into 26 points.

The Scores:

Lebanon 75 - Hadidian 18, Khalil 18, Zeinoun 13, Majok 12, Mezher 8, Rtail 4, Makhlouf 2, Khoueiry 0, Samaha 0, Moussa 0.

Gilas Pilipinas 54 - Brownlee 21, Oftana 10, Thompson 7, Edu 6, Ramos 5, Fajardo 2, Newsome 1, Quiambao 1, Perez 1, Tamayo 0, Amos 0, Malonzo 0.

Quarterscores: 13-12; 26-28; 51-48; 75-54.