BOCAUE, Bulacan – Gilas Pilipinas succumbed in its first game in the Fiba Basketball World Cup 2023 despite a gallant fight, bowing to Dominican Republic, 87-81, in front of a record crowd at the Philippine Arena.
Dominican Republic leaned on key baskets by NBA star Karl-Anthony Towns to send the home team tumbling to a heartbreaking defeat in a game it had a chance of winning down to the final few minutes.
Jordan Clarkson scored 28 points but fouled out of the game with 3:32 still to play in the fourth to hasten the downfall of Gilas before a new Fiba record of 38,115 fans that included President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
Towns topscored for his team with 26 points, including two free throws and a hook shot during the stretch when Clarkson fouled out to give Dominican Republic an 81-76 lead, deflating the hopes of home fans.
READ: Fiba World Cup attendance record now belongs to Philippines
Gilas coach Chot Reyes said he was proud of the performance of the players in a game that could have gone either way.
In the end, the loss of their top offensive weapon spelled the difference.
“I really love the fight of our players. They competed. Competed hard. Unfortunately, the disqualification of Jordan, really a big blow for us,” said Reyes.
Victor Liz, 37, tallied 18 points, six rebounds, and four steals for Dominicana. His lay-up over June Mar Fajardo with 1:36 to go before leaving the game following a bad fall extended their lead to 83-79.
Fajardo had a solid outing for Gilas with 16 points on a perfect 5-of-5 shooting from the field, while Dwight Ramos had 13 points and six rebounds. AJ Edu was also perfect at 3-for-3 with five boards and two blocks.
Gilas got the lead for the last time at 72-69 before Dominican Republic turned it around on back-to-back threes by Andres Feliz and Antonio Pena.
The scores:
Dominican Republic (87) - Towns 26, Liz 18, Feliz 12, Montero 6, Delgado 6, Peña 5, Vargas 5, Figueroa 5, Mendoza 2, Quiñones 2, Solano 0, Suero DNP.
Philippines (81) - Clarkson 28, Fajardo 16, Ramos 13, Edu 7, Pogoy 6, Thompson 5, Ravena 2, Abando 2, Aguilar 2, Sotto 0, Malonzo 0, Perez DNP.
Quarterscores: 22-18; 42-42; 66-64; 87-81.
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