China steals one from PHL in Clarkson debut

China withstood a gallant stand from the Philippines, 82-80, in Jordan Clarkson's debut for the national team in the Asian Games basketball tournament.

The traditional Asian powerhouse scored the final five points of the game to steal the win from the Philippines, who looked poised for the victory after overcoming a double-digit fourth quarter deficit.

Despite the disappointing result, Team Pilipinas remained positive after the game.

“I don’t see this as a loss,” said Philippine team coach Yeng Guiao, who commended his players that had less than two weeks to prepare for the challenge.

The Philippines is still likely to make it to the quarterfinals of the tournament, but will have a harder path in a bracket that includes a knockout game against traditional rival South Korea.

Clarkson, who joined the team after securing a last-minute clearance from the NBA, finished with 28 points, eight rebounds, and four assists.

He did most of his damage in the third period, helping the Philippines tie the game before ending the period behind by just two points, 59-57.

China struck back in the fourth, opening up a 72-62 spread behind the heroics of NBA prospect Abudushalamu Abudurexiti. Making matters worse was Clarkson going to the bench needing treatment for what seemed to be cramps.

But instead of folding, the Philippines went on a furious 16-3 run led by Stanley Pringle, Christian Standhardinger, Poy Erram, and Paul Lee to take a 78-75 advantage with less than three minutes left.

A Wang Zhelin basket put China within one, 78-77, with 1:35 left. Pringle answered back with another interior basket to push the Philippines back up by three.

A split from Zhou Qi and a layup from Zhao Rui made it a tied game. After a pair of missed shots by the Philippines, a limping Clarkson ended up fouling Zhao, who made the marginal free throws.

Paul Lee's last-ditch three-pointer hit back iron, allowing China to escape with the win. —JST, GMA News