Tables were turned for Senegal when the Philippines caught up to their first quarter 19-13 lead in the middle of the second quarter with two consecutive three pointers from Paul Lee giving Gilas a 5 point lead against the furious Senegal.
Senegal tries to catch up trailing by 5 by the end of the third and eventually caught up with a three pointer with only 33.1 seconds left in the fourth having tied up the game in 64 points, not giving the Philippines an easy win.
Andray Blatche, scoring 18 shots and 14 rebounds, was fouled out 1:55 into the overtime giving a Philippines a slight disadvantage losing one of their top scorers and losing the tie game with two succesful free throws from Ibrahima Thomas.
June Mar Fajardo, scoring 15 points throughout the game and being one of the “twin towers”, standing along with Blatche early in to the game, that gave Senegal a hard time to fire their shots inside, ties it up again in 71 with only 1:35 remaining in the overtime.
The captain, Jimmy Alapag, also a top scorer, drives the team to win, scoring five free throws in the final 45 seconds of the breathtaking game.
Senegal goes down with a 2-3 record while the Philippines go home with heads up high having their first win in the FIBA World Cup in over four decades.