Gilas Defeated China Secures Olympic Qualifying Slot:
Gilas defeated China and saved the best for last for the Philippines as co-host of the FIBA World Cup 2023 during a jampacked game held at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City last August 2, 2023, with the final score of 96-75.
The Philippines’ victory against China was made possible after the Nationals mounted a massive third-quarter barrage and averted a shutout in the FIBA World Cup with Jordan Clarkson spearheading the offensive attack of the Philippines with 34 points, scoring five three-point shots from the field.
The Gilas Pilipinas’ final game against fellow Asian national team is their final game in the classification phase as they ended their FIBA World Cup campaign with a 1-4 record.
PBA Veteran sharpshooting guard Roger Pogoy and international basketball star Dwight Ramos provided 10-2 for Gilas as they knocked down treys apiece together. Still, Rui Zhao and Zhenlin Zhang responded with their own run and cut the deficit to a single-point lead.
The visiting Chinese national team also got the lead after five straight points from Zhang 10-14 in the first half, but Clarkson and Kai Sotto responded to tie the game at 16-all by the end of the first quarter.
In the second quarter of the game, Korean basketball league star Rhenz Abando instigated the offense of Gilas Pilipinas, scoring on a triple followed by a dunk for a 26-20 advantage in the early part of the quarter. Abando’s effort was responded to with an impressive performance from Zhenlin Zhang and Kaier Li as the visiting team fought back to give China a 40-39 margin at the end of the First Half.
During the third quarter, at the early minute of the game, it was back-and-fourth offensive performances for both squads until Gilas Pilipinas rolled out an impressive offensive performance, scoring 59 total points compared to China’s 48 points.
During this time, it was Jordan Clarkson’s offensive performance, knocking down four straight triples to give Gilas a 70-50 advantage over the Chinese national basketball team.
Scottie Thompson and EJ Edu also provided some offensive weapons and instigated another run for Gilas with an 8-3 exchange in the fourth quarter to give the Gilas squad their biggest lead in the game at 85-60.
The youngest and one of the most promising players on the court, Gilas big-man Kai Sotto finished with 12 points and six rebounds for Gilas. They got 14 markers from Rhenz Abando, and as usual, Dwight Ramos got 11 points, who was also celebrating his birthday that day.
Gilas Defeated China: Highlights Video:
NBA veteran Kyle Anderson or Kaier Li ended with 17 points for China, and Hu and Zhao added 12 points.
The final game of the Philippines is a welcome development for Filipino fans as they ended their campaign with a resounding victory after Gilas defeated China.
Jordan Clarkson, for his part, was relieved with Gilas’ performance against a strong Asian team, as he was quoted as saying “My teammates found me in transition, getting some open shots. I feel like this whole World Cup I really haven’t been able to get free and get into a super crazy rhythm just because how defenses were playing and stuff like that,” he said.
“But I just continued to stay with it. My teammates found me, got me open, I just made shots. It was great.”
The Philippines ended their campaign with an impressive performance, avoiding going winless at a World Cup and securing a spot for the Olympic Qualifying tournament after Gilas defeated China.
The Chinese side came off an impressive 83-76 win over Angola after losing all three games in the group stage.
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