The win came five games late, but it didn’t matter. We beat China.
Gilas Pilipinas buried the misery of four straight losses with an electrifying 96-75 victory over a stunned Chinese team in front of an exuberant Filipino crowd of 11,080 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 on Sunday.
Later, Coach Chot Reyes announced at the media conference at the end of the game that he is stepping down as head coach of Gilas.
“I’m stepping aside (as head coach). I have coached my last game as Gilas Pilipinas coach,” said Reyes, who was on the receiving end of
the fan backlash following the team’s string of losses.
With a back-and-forth game and a winless campaign staring the team straight in the eye, NBA star Jordan Clarkson ran amuck with four
straight triples in an insane 27-4 third-quarter run as Gilas tore the game wide open at 73-51 going into the final period after trailing the
Chinese by a point at the half, 39-40.
Gilas was never really threatened from there as it ended its campaign in the World Cup with a 1-4 record.
But Clarkson, the Utah Jazz star who went nuts with 34 points – 24 in the third – along with 2 rebounds and 3 assists, wasn’t the only hero
for Gilas, which notched its first win in the World Cup in nine years since beating Senegal in overtime during the 2014 edition.
There was Rhenz Abando, who had 14 points and 5 rebounds, and birthday boy Dwight Ramos, who had 11 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists.
NBA hopeful Kai Sotto had his best game in the tournament with 12 points and 6 rebounds, while AJ Edu had 5 points, 10 rebounds and 3
assists.
Even Scottie Thompson, who was unproductive in the first four games, joined in on the action with 4 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists.
With the win, Gilas averted what could have been a winless campaign by a host in the World Cup, an ignominy suffered by Colombia, which went
0-6 in 1982. It also marked the first time Filipinos won a World Cup game at home after losing all eight games in 1978.
This year’s team bowed to the Dominican Republic at 87-81, fell to Angola, 80-70, and was beaten by Italy, 90-83, before being mauled by
South Sudan, 87-68, in the Classification Round.
China had its lone win against Angola, 83-76.
In the first game at the Big Dome, Carlik Jones’ big game lifted South Sudan past Angola, 101-78, and into a seat in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The 6’0” Jones knocked in a double-double of 26 points and 15 assists for the Bright Stars, who posted their third win in five outings in
Group M of the Classification 17-32 Round.
The Bright Stars learned that they snared the slot meant for Africa in the Paris 2024 Olympics after New Zealand beat Egypt, 88-86, in Group
over at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
“In the first game, we felt like we let one slip away. We just kept fighting. We kept competing each game, day in, day out. And there was
another chance for us to make it. We stepped up to the plate and we did what we needed to do and got it done,” said Jones, who plays for
the Chicago Bulls in the NBA.
South Sudan, which held Angola to just 32 percent from the floor, including 23 percent from long range, took control of the game right
in the first period.
Triples from Kuany Kuany and Majok Deng during a 15-4 run in the first six minutes of action gave them an 18-8 edge at the 4:50 mark.
The Bright Stars, who shot 54 percent off its field goals, then took a commanding 30-13 lead behind Deng’s split charity before the second
quarter commenced.
They then pulled away by 23 points following Khaman Madit Maluach’s split charity with 5:04 left in the second canto, 66-43.
Coach Royal Ivey was in tears and speechless after the game, as South Sudan, which for years has been hounded by civil strife, made it to
the Paris Olympics for the first time since joining FIBA in 2013.
“Man, what a game. I’m speechless right now. It’s so surreal,” said Ivey, who thanked his assistant coach and South Sudan Federation chief
Luol Deng for his help in mapping out a game plan, along with his former high school coach Joe Mantegna.
