JORDAN Clarkson was glad he was finally able to find his rhythm on Saturday to close the 2023 Fiba Basketball World Cup.
Clarkson shot 11-of-18 from the field, finishing with 34 points in Gilas Pilipinas’ 96-75 win over China on Saturday. The Utah Jazz cager had five three-pointers in the third quarter during a late stretch to the period on their way to the win.
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Clarkson said he was happy to be able to get his rhythm on the final day after hitting just 33 of his 89 shots in the first four games of the competition.
“Just continue to stick with it,” said Clarkson. “Teammates have been finding me in transition, getting some open shots. I feel like in this whole Cup, I really haven’t been able to get free and get into a super crazy rhythm because of our defensive plan and stuff like that. Just continued to stay with it and my teammates found me open and hit shots.”
The Philippines salvaged a win over China to end the tournament on a high note after dropping the first four games that prevented them from clinching an outright berth in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Gilas though was able to secure a place in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament, and Clarkson said that was a product of the team continuing to keep on fighting in all the games.
“Just coming in here, the early games, it’s kinda heartbreaking losing. I tell you one thing, the whole tournament, this whole Cup, we continue fighting. We love playing for the country,” said Clarkson.
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