Jordan Clarkson goes nuclear, Gilas blows China out by 21 to close FIBA World Cup campaign

Gilas Pilipinas, led by Jordan Clarkson's 34 points, closed out their campaign in the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup on a high note as they blew out Asian rival China, 96-75, on Saturday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Clarkson was a man unconscious in the pivotal third quarter, scoring 24 of his points, where Gilas turned a one-point halftime deficit into a 22-point lead heading into the fourth.

Clarkson scored 12 of those points in a 20-4 Gilas run that gave them a double-digit lead, 59-48. After a response by China, he then hit four consecutive unanswered triples to make it 73-50 with 56 seconds left in the period.

China could only come to as close as 17 in the fourth quarter.

The Philippines, one of the hosts of this edition of the World Cup, avoided a shutout after losing its first four games in the competition. They nearly went back-to-back World Cups without a victory, but scored a big one here in front of their home crowd.

Clarkson, the Utah Jazz guard, finished the game with his personal tournament-best of 34 points on 11-for-18 shooting (61-percent) from the field and 5-for-10 from three, along with three assists, two rebounds, and one steal.

Supplementing him was youngster Rhenz Abando, who also had his best game of the tournament, dropping 14 points while also grabbing five rebounds, one steal, and one block.

Kai Sotto and Dwight Ramos added 12 and 11 points, respectively.

Overall, the host nation shot well from the field making 62-percent of their shots from the perimeter (26/42) and 30 percent (9/30) from three-point territory.

China was led by Minnesota Timberwolves forward Kyle Anderson, also known as Li Kaier, who tallied 17 points, nine rebounds, and five assists in the loss.

Zhang Zhenlin backed up Li, scoring 13 points of his own while also posting three rebounds and dishing out two assists.

Despite going up by eight points early in the opening quarter, 10-2, Gilas left the door open for China to claw their way back due to turnovers. Li and Zhang combined for 22 points to give China a slender one point lead at the half, 40-39.

After the resumption, the Philippines turned to Clarkson as he put on a masterful performance in front of the Filipino faithful.

The former NBA sixth man of the year scored from everywhere but made his biggest impact from the outside, connecting on five three-pointers to stretch the Philippines’ advantage to 22 at the end of the third frame, 73-51.

From there, Gilas coach Chot Reyes' men went on to safeguard their lead throughout the final quarter to finally their first World Cup victory on home soil, 96-75.

The scores:

Philippines 96 - Clarkson 34, Abando 14, Sotto 12, Ramos 11, Fajardo 9, Pogoy 7, Edu 5, Thompson 4, Aguilar 0, Raveno 0.

China 75 - Li 17, Zhang 13, Hu 12, Zhao R. 12, Zhou 5, Cui 2, Fu 2, Zhu 0, Wang 0, Zhao J. 0.

Quarters: 16-16, 39-40, 73-51, 96-75.

—Juris Salvanera/JMB, GMA Integrated News