GILAS Pilipinas anticipated a friendlier atmosphere in Jeddah with the throngs of Filipino fans trooping to cheer them on compared to the limited support it had in Amman.
Unfortunately, the desire to put on a show for their compatriots nearly cost them.
See Gilas puts away tough, physical Saudi to complete fifth window sweep
"Coming into this game, we knew that it was going to be a tough game. Saudi is a really tough team and in the first half, we were too excited," Scottie Thompson said of Gilas' sloppy play that kept Saudi Arabia in the game early on.
"We had a lot of turnovers," referring to the eight miscues that the Philippines had in the first two periods that allowed Saudi to take the lead in the opening period, 16-12.
But once the Filipinos settled in the second half, it was all business from there as Gilas went on and took the 76-63 win on Sunday (Monday, Manila time).
"Good thing, we got to recover in the second half and pull it off," said Thompson as the Philippines held Saudi Arabia to a paltry 29-percent field goal shooting.
The reigning PBA MVP continued his magnificent play for the national team in the fifth window with his all-around performance of nine points, nine rebounds, three assists, and two steals.
Thompson is just grateful to reward the fans with a sweet road victory that pushed the Philippines to a 5-3 card in Group E.
"We just want to thank God for the win tonight and of course, the Filipinos coming out there coming to support us," he said.
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