Gilas Pilipinas secured a spot in the knockout playoffs after cruising past Iran behind Dwight Ramos' heroics, 66-57, Saturday afternoon at the King Abdullah Sports City in Saudi Arabia.

Ramos broke the 33-33 deadlock at halftime after he buried two three-pointers, giving the Gilas a two-point lead that swelled to as much as 18 points and sustained it until the time expired.

Dwight led the way with 21 points and five rebounds, coming in handy as Justin Brownlee was far away from his usual production, struggling with only eight baskets, seven rebounds, and four assists.

This match served as a springboard for Gilas after they lost two consecutive matches against Chinese Taipei and New Zealand, to stay alive in the tournament.

“We just really needed this win. Everybody knew what was at stake and we stepped up in the second half. My teammates trusted me and I just wanted to deliver," Dwight Ramos on their first win.

The national team erupted in the second quarter when they ramped up their defensive pressure, forcing Iran into tough shots to gain momentum swiftly.

Ramos then stacked up the heat as he vaulted ahead on his scoring drives and mid-range looks, backed by AJ Edu and Carl Tamayo's effort for 33-33 halftime.

The third period was all Ramos after he took the driver's seat with back-to-back threes, completing 10 points in the quarter, 41-35.

The tides were slowly turning to Gilas when Brownlee broke free from his slump, adding key baskets to stretch the lead to 15 points, 55-40, heading into the final quarter.

However, Iran was not ready to fold their cards just yet as they tried to rally, trimming the lead to single digits, but turnovers and missed free throws hurt their comeback.

Though it was a whole different story in the first frame when Iran came out aggressive, hitting outside shots and capitalizing on Gilas' turnovers, 18-12.

The blue-clad team then seemed to gain the upper hand in the third quarter, notching up their defense to limit Iran's scoring to only seven points in the quarter.

Gilas then tightened their grip on victory, relying on defensive management and defensive stops to secure the dub, 66-57.

“We talked at halftime about locking in defensively. The guys responded, and Dwight was just phenomenal. This was a game we had to win and we found a way," coach Tim Cone on their halftime adjustment.

Having secured the third place in Group D, Gilas will face Saudi Arabia, the second place in Group C, in the qualification round for the finals.

Carl M. Aredidon

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