JAKARTA, Indonesia – The Philippines valiantly stood its ground against China but could not deliver on the finishing blow as it yielded on Tuesday, 80-82, in Jordan Clarkson’s debut for the country in the Group D of the men’s basketball tournament in the 2018 Asian Games at GBK Basket Hall.
The Filipinos relentlessly fought China throughout, turning a 10-point fourth quarter deficit to a 78-75 lead with a 16-3 run but falling short of an upset bid of the taller Chinese squad bannered by 7-foot-2 Houston Rockets center Zhou Qi.
Clarkson had an impressive Philippine debut, doing almost everything for the country with 28 points, including 16 in the third quarter where the Philippines successfully tied the game at 55 after going down by 12 points, on top of eight rebounds, four assists, and two steals.
Clarkson’s first game for the country’s colors though was put into naught by Zhao Rui’s heroic performance for China, scoring his country’s final four points – including the game-winning free throws with 13.2 seconds left – that left the predominant Filipino crowd in silence.
Paul Lee had the chance to win it for the Philippines but his attempted game-winning triple went off as the buzzer sounded.
It was a performance worth watching for that the hastily-assembled Philippines showed, staying in the game despite China’s massive height advantage and Clarkson sitting out midway through the fourth quarter with cramps.
Helping the country was Christian Standhardinger who went toe-to-toe with the tall Chinese frontline on the way to an 18-point and eight-rebound performance, while Stanley Pringle added 14 points, four boards, two assists, and two blocks.
The Filipinos also did a great job slowing down the 22-year old Zhou in the second half after exploding for 17 points, on 4 of 7 3-point shooting, eight rebounds, and six blocks.
Zhou led China in taking the early initiatives, showing his range from beyond the arc and imposing his will down low, before Wang Zhelin, Abudushalamu Abudurexiti, and Zhao took over late.
Zhou flirted with a triple-double with 25 points, including 17 in the first half, 12 rebounds, and seven blocks, while Wang, Abudurexiti, and Zhao poured in 13, 12, and 11 points, respectively, which came mostly in the final quarter.
Despite the heartbreaking loss, the Philippines is now virtually assured of advancing to the knockout round but has to overcome a stiffer challenge at the hands of bitter rival South Korea to stay in the medal contention.
The Scores:
CHINA 82 – Zhou 25, Wang 13, Abudurexiti 12, Zhao 11, Ding 7, Sun 6, Liu 5, Fang 2, Dong 1
PHILIPPINES 80 – Clarkson 28, Standhardinger 18, Pringle 14, Lee 10, Erram 6, Almazan 2, Belga 2, Ahanmisi 0, Norwood 0, Taulava 0, Yap 0
Quarter scores: 20-12, 36-31, 59-57, 82-80.