Clarkson drops 27 but Vucevic tows Montenegro past Gilas in tuneup

Jordan Clarkson dropped 27 points for Gilas Pilipinas but it was Nikola Vucevic and the Montenegro basketball team who won, 102-87, in a closed-door tuneup match on Sunday at the Philsports Arena in Pasig.

After leading by just two points, 44-42, at the end of the first half, Montenegro relied on a strong third quarter performance as it outscored Gilas, 32-22, to end the said frame at 76-64. 

Montenegro led by as much as 20, 90-70, with 6:14 left in the fourth quarter after a triple by Bojan Dubljevic, before the squad eventually took the win.

Clarkson had five assists and two rebounds on top of his 27 points, while June Mar Fajardo had 19 points. Dwight Ramos chipped in 13 points, while Kai Sotto was scoreless in almost 15 minutes of play

Vucevic, on the other hand, had 18 points and nine rebounds, while Dubljevic added 16 points. Kendrick Perry and Vladimir Mihailovic had 15 and 12 points, respectively.

After winning against Cote d'Ivoire and falling to Montenegro, they will face Mexico in another closed-door tuneup match on Monday.

The tuneup matches will determine Gilas Pilipinas' final 12 for the World Cup.

Gilas will open its FIBA World Cup campaign against the Dominican Republic on Friday at the Philippine Arena, followed by Angola on August 27 and Italy on August 29 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

—JKC, GMA Integrated News