With Jordan Clarkson fouling out late, Gilas Pilipinas sputtered against the Dominican Republic, 87-81, in its 2023 Fiba World Cup debut on Friday night.
Clarkson finished with 28 points, seven rebounds and seven assists before fouling out in the final 3:32 of the contest at Philippine Arena here.
June Mar Fajardo added 16 points and seven rebounds while Dwight Ramos had 13 points and six rebounds in the losing effort before a record 38,115 spectators.
“Maganda naman ‘yung laro ng team, may mga lapses lang talaga. Kailangan lang namin i-correct ‘yon, so bounce back [kami] next game,” Fajardo, the Philippine Basketball Association’s six-time Most Valuable Player, told reporters shortly after the defeat.
(The team played well. We just had lapses that we need to correct for us to be able to bounce back next game.)
“Sayang lang, kailangan talaga kasi si JC sa endgame,” Fajardo added of Gilas being without Clarkson just as when it was trying to get back into the game.
(It’s just too bad because we needed JC in the endgame.)
Karl-Anthony Towns, to nobody’s surprise, led the way for the visitors, turning in a double-double of 26 points and 10 rebounds. Old tormentor Victor Liz chipped in 18 while Andres Feliz 12 more.
Gilas will have to nurse this heartbreak quickly as it battles 0-1 Angola this Sunday at Araneta Coliseum for its group phase campaign.
“Mag-move on. Kailangan naming mag-move on” Fajardo said. “Bukas may practice kami, and papanoorin namin mga videos (ng game) para malaman kung ano pa puwede ma-improve.”
(We need to move on. We have practice tomorrow (Saturday) and we’re going to watch film to see the areas where can still improve.)
“Basta maglaro lang kami as a team at sundin ‘yung game plan, may chance [naman] kami,” he went on.
(We have a chance as long as we play as a team and follow the game plan.)
Meanwhile, the Caribbeans will try to annex a second win against the 1-0 Italians, ranked 10th in the global ladder, in the curtain raiser.
