MANILA, Philippines – South Sudan superstar Carlik Jones tipped his hat to Gilas Pilipinas forward Rhenz Abando, who had the unenviable task of guarding the NBA player.

Abando forced Jones to just sometimes pass the ball or launch some tough attempts that saw the Chicago Bulls guard finishing with an inefficient 7-of-20 shooting clip in the classification match of the FIBA World Cup.

In the end, though, Jones still wound up powering the Sudanese to an 87-68 triumph on a 17-point, 9-rebound, 14-assist outing – nearly the first World Cup triple-double.

“Big shout out to him, man. I think he played well, he defended well,” said Jones of the 6-foot-2 Abando.

“I try to put him in as many ball screens as he could to relieve some of that pressure and so to get other guys open. I think he played well,” he added.

The Filipinos made crucial stops as they trimmed a 21-point, second-quarter deficit, 51-30, to just four, 60-56, in the early goings of the fourth quarter.

Jones stepped up when he made an assist to Wenyen Gabriel to push the lead to six, 62-56, and a steal that led to a two-handed hammer by Majok Deng as South Sudan’s advantage hiked back to eight, 64-56, with 6:42 to go.

Those two plays changed the complexion of the game, renewing South Sudan’s confidence heading into the final minutes.

“We just kept telling each other, ‘Stick together.’ The game is a game of runs,” said Jones.

“We were up 20, on the Philippines’ turf. It’s no way that we expect them to lay down, especially with a crowd like that that was loud and supportive the whole game,” he continued.

“Our thing was just to stick together and gut out that win.”

In their first-ever FIBA World Cup stint, South Sudan is now on the cusp of claiming the fancied African spot in the 2024 Paris Olympics.

An outright berth will be on the line when the Sudanese (2-2) face fellow continental team Angola (1-3) on Saturday, September 2.

South Sudan, which bears the same record with Egypt, is behind by a single point differential in the race for the Olympiad.

“It’s definitely an important game, we must respect every opponent. Everybody’s here for a reason,” said Jones.

“You have to respect everybody but I’m a guy who enjoys wins when we get them and I’ll just worry about them [on Saturday.]” — Rappler.com