Gilas Pilipinas Men erased a 21-point deficit against South Sudan but still came up short, 87-68, in the first of their two classification games in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 on Thursday.
Utah Jazz star Jordan Clarkson, who led the comeback along with Dwight Ramos, scored 24 points for the Philippines. Ramos had a double-double of 20 points and 10 boards, while Basketball Without Borders alumnus AJ Edu had 12 points and 14 rebounds.
South Sudan, meanwhile, was paced by Bulls guard Carlik Jones, who had a 17-14-9 line, and former Laker Wenyen Gabriel who scored 11 points.
With the loss, Gilas Pilipinas will no longer have a shot at the automatic Olympic berth allotted for the top-ranked Asian team in the World Cup.
Clarkson and Gilas will take on China in their final assignment. China is spearheaded by Timberwolves player Kyle Anderson.
