Gilas Pilipinas ran out of steam in a fourth-quarter meltdown and suffered a 54-75 defeat at the hands of a Lebanon side missing two key players in the 2nd Doha Invitational Cup late Saturday (Manila time) at the Qatar University Sports and Events Complex.

Five costly turnovers and a sudden dry spell doomed the Filipinos as the Lebanese outworked Gilas in the final canto in a game that was tight until the last nine and half minutes.

Gilas seemed to have its legs and touch in the payoff period, with just two field goals, and the Cedars outscored the Tim Cone-mentored squad, 24-6.

With less than 24 hours since pulling off a 74-71 come-from-behind escape over host Qatar to open the four-nation tilt, the Filipinos looked winded against the Lebanese playing sans stars Wael Arakji and Omari Spellman.

The Cedars exploited Gilas’ 19 miscues to score 26 points off turnovers and pounded 36 points inside the paint.

Gilas kept its close after AJ Edu converted a layup with 9:35 left in the game to cut its deficit to 50-51.

The Lebanese answered with a stirring 14-0 run that completely zapped the energy out of Gilas as Jad Khalil drilled a three-pointer for a 65-50 lead with 5:03 left.

Calvin Oftana sank Gilas’ only other field goal with 4:31 remaining.

Naturalized player Justin Brownlee played 32 minutes for a double-double of 21 points and 11 rebounds but committed four turnovers for Gilas, which is using the short pocket tournament as part of its preparation for the third window of the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers against Chinese Taipei on 20 February and New Zealand on the 23rd.

Oftana added 10 markers as the only other Gilas player in double figures with 10. Ramos, who paced Gilas in the opener with 15 points, was limited to just five on 2-of-7 field goal shooting and turned the ball over thrice.

Scottie Thompson had seven markers while Edu got six points and six boards.

Gilas wraps up its participation against Egypt on Monday at 1:30 a.m. (Manila time).

Khalil shot 6-of-11 from the field including three triples to lead the Cedars with 18 points while Gerard Hadidian posted 18 markers and eight boards.

Karim Zeinoun had 13 points while Sudan-born big man Ater Majok added 12 points and nine rebounds for Lebanon, which rebounded from a 70-82 loss to Egypt.

Meanwhile, the Egyptians blew out Qatar, 83-54, for a 2-0 win-loss card.