Gilas Pilipinas pulled off an upset of epic proportions as they defeated Latvia in their homecourt, 89-80, to open their campaign in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Riga.

As the Filipino ballers celebrated at center court, the Latvian fans were utterly shocked with what they witnessed, especially after they obliterated Georgia in their first game.

Justin Brownlee, in his first FIBA game against a European opponent, was spectacular with a near triple-double composed of 26 points, nine rebounds, and nine assists. He converted on a crucial four-point play to extend the lead to 14 points, 85-71, with 3:29 remaining in the game, a buffer big enough to help Gilas hang on to the win.

Kai Sotto had arguably his best Gilas game with 18 points and eight rebounds on 70% shooting from the field. June Mar Fajardo was also efficient with 11 points on only six attempts.

Dwight Ramos and Chris Newsome nailed crucial free throws in the dying seconds and combined for 22 points.

The Philippine squad came out firing in the first quarter as they surprised the home team with efficient offense and air-tight defense.

After Fajardo, Sotto, and Brownlee did their damage, CJay Perez punctuated the first quarter with a long three to beat the buzzer and give Gilas a 32-16 advantage.

Latvia never led in the game buy they tried to get back into the game in the final quarter, only to be met by timely replies from Gilas.

“ I’m totally shocked sitting here in front of you,” said head coach Tim Cone during the post-game press conference. “Anytime you can get into the international arena and have success, that’s a huge feather in the cap. Our country is so passionate about basketball and for us to have success on the world stage means a lot to what’s going on back home. This is a huge, big step.”

The offense was spectacular from the Nationals as they converted 72% on their shots in the opening period. They were nine of 20 from the three point range and a near-perfect 20 of 22 from the stripe.

This is the first time the Philippines defeated an European opponent in a FIBA-sanctioned game since 1960.

“We are not here to win just one game,” added Cone. “We want to try and get into the finals”

Latvia will still qualify to the semifinals even with the shock loss but Gilas will be the number one seed with a win against Georgia at 830pm, tonight (PH Time). A loss, as long as it’s by 18 points or fewer, will still push the Philippines to the semifinals.