CARLIK Jones had positive words to say about Rhenz Abando when asked about how he was guarded by the Filipino player during their Fiba Basketball World Cup classification round game at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
Jones had a near triple-double on Thursday when the Chicago Bulls-bound cager had 17 points, nine rebounds, and 14 assists in South Sudan’s 87-68 win over Gilas Pilipinas.
READ: Gilas bid for Olympics over as brave comeback vs South Sudan falls short
Abando was among those tasked to guard Jones in the ballgame, particularly in the fourth, but the reigning NBA G League MVP was just too good for South Sudan.
Jones praised Abando, when asked about his defense against him.
“It’s ball pressure, whole game,” said Jones. “I give him a big shoutout. I think he played well. He defended well.”
“I tried to put him to as much ball screens as I could to relieve some of that pressure and also to get other guys open. I think he played well,” Jones said.
South Sudan ended the Philippines’ bid for a direct qualification to the Olympics, while also enhancing its own quest as they head to their crucial encounter against Angola on Saturday at the Big Dome.
Leading from the front is Jones, who fell one rebound shy of becoming the first player in World Cup history to tally a triple double. But he was quick to play down the feat.
“Just a huge win for us. We are one step closer to our goal, making it and qualifying to the Olympics. As good as the numbers were, we are just glad that we got the job done. I just want to shoutout to the rest of my teammates for stepping up when we needed it,” said Jones.
The 25-year-old Jones applauded Gilas fans for making it hard for South Sudan to win the ballgame with their support all game.
“We just kept telling each other to stick together. The game is a game of runs. We were up 20 on the Philippines’ turf. There’s no way we expect them to lay down especially with a crowd like that. It was loud and supportive the whole game. Our thing was just to stick together and gut out that win,” said Jones.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
