Gilas Pilipinas dismantled Japan in a dominating 113-80 win in the Asian Games on Tuesday, August 28, at the GBK Basketball Hall in Jakarta, Indonesia, marking NBA star’s Jordan Clarkson’s first win in a Philippine uniform.
Gilas showed no mercy in the second half of the quarter leaving Japan scoreless in the first five minutes of the third quarter raising their lead from ten in the halftime to 21, 68-47.
Since then, the Gilas team never looked back with Clarkson and Almazan showing off their own renditions of a slam dunk in the fourth quarter. Christian Standhardinger was the main star for the Gilas this game delivering a double-double performance, 27 points, 13 rebounds, and three steals.
The game also marks Clarkson’s first win with the Philippine national team. Clarkson scored 22 points and nine assists showing his consistent and impeccable performance all throughout his stint with Gilas.
Japan’s eight-man roster, meanwhile, relied on Taichi Nakamura for their offense. This, however, was not enough to stop the Gilas who played effective basketball both in offense and defense.
With the win, Gilas will have their final game against the winner of Syria-Japan game for a fifth place finish in the Asian Games. Win or lose, Gilas’ finish is better than their 7th place run in Incheon four years ago.
NOTE: Photo: Asian Games Website
