GILAS Pilipinas trailed Angola, 36-33, at the half of their 2023 Fiba Basketball World Cup match at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
Gilas found itself trailing by three despite leading by as many as 11 points in the second quarter in a must-win game for both sides in their bid to advance to the second round.
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Jordan Clarkson had seven points but only shot 3-of-11 from the field in the first half with Angola doing a good job of defending the former NBA Sixth Man of the Year.
CJ Perez added six points after sitting out the opening loss to Dominican Republic to go along with his four rebounds and two assists in the first half.
Roger Pogoy chipped in six points while Dwight Ramos had five for Gilas Pilipinas.
Atlanta Hawks player Bruno Fernando led Angola with eight points including a slam at the 6:34-mark of the second quarter that helped them erase a 28-17 deficit and tie the contest at 28.
Angola took the lead despite shooting just 30 percent from the field, although its defense forced the Philippines to 10 turnovers in one half.
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