THE victorious Gilas Pilipinas side arrived in Manila very early Sunday morning all smiles as the coaches, led by Tim Cone, and the players received a warm welcome from the Philippine Sports Commission as well as airport personnel at the NAIA Terminal 1.

Arriving just before 1:30 a.m., the atmosphere was festive with people asking for selfie and group photos, especially with Brownlee, whose 33-point, second-half explosion led Gilas' mighty comeback from 20 points to beat host China, 77-76, in their semifinal tussle and advancing in the gold medal round in the process.