Jordan Clarkson saved the best for last as the Philippines avoided another winless FIBA World Cup run, salvaging its rather forgettable campaign with a 96-75 win over China at the Araneta Coliseum on Saturday, September 2.

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Fourth quarter

FIBA | FINAL:

Gilas Pilipinas saves its best for last, torching old rival China, 96-75, for its first-ever FIBA World Cup home win!

Jordan Clarkson goes nuclear with 24 third-quarter points for a 34-point finale.#FIBAWorldCup2023 #FIBAWC pic.twitter.com/QXBsVfN6E6

— Rappler Sports (@RapplerSports) September 2, 2023

• GILAS PILIPINAS 92-73: Kai Sotto 2/2 from the line
• GILAS PILIPINAS 89-71: Kyle Anderson layup
• GILAS PILIPINAS 89-67: Kai Sotto putback layup, Hu Jinqiu response layup. Timeout Gilas at 3:39
• GILAS PILIPINAS 87-63: Scottie Thompson putback layup
• GILAS PILIPINAS 85-63: Zhao Rui open three off the timeout
• GILAS PILIPINAS 85-60: AJ Edu tip-in from a Rhenz Abando lob. Timeout China at 5:19
• GILAS PILIPINAS 83-60: Kai Sotto putback layup
• GILAS PILIPINAS 81-60: Hu Mingxuan corner three
• GILAS PILIPINAS 81-57: Rhenz Abando easy fastbreak layup
• GILAS PILIPINAS 79-57: Zhao Rui two free throws
• GILAS PILIPINAS 79-55: Dwight Ramos 2/2 from the line
• GILAS PILIPINAS 77-55: June Mar Fajardo easy two off the AJ Edu bounce pass
• GILAS PILIPINAS 75-55: Kyle Anderson with another floater
• GILAS PILIPINAS 75-53: June Mar Fajardo bullies his way inside
• GILAS PILIPINAS 73-53: Kyle Anderson floater

FIBA | END OF Q3:

Jordan Clarkson drops 24 points in the third quarter as Gilas Pilipinas builds a 22-point lead against China, 73-51!#FIBAWorldCup2023 #FIBAWC LIVE UPDATES: https://t.co/PUei1I32fL pic.twitter.com/rOcjr7z3HD

— Rappler Sports (@RapplerSports) September 2, 2023

Third quarter

• END OF 3Q: Gilas Pilipinas pulls away against China and builds a commanding 73-51 lead
• GILAS PILIPINAS 73-51: Zhao Rui 1/2 at the line
• GILAS PILIPINAS 73-50: Jordan Clarkson is a man on a mission as he sinks another triple
• GILAS PILIPINAS 70-50: Jordan Clarkson drains his third straight long bomb
• GILAS PILIPINAS 67-50: Jordan Clarkson is on fire, guns another trey
• GILAS PILIPINAS 64-50: Jordan Clarkson with another triple
• GILAS PILIPINAS 61-50: Rhenz Abando attacks inside
• GILAS PILIPINAS 59-50: Zhu Junlong layup
• GILAS PILIPINAS 59-48: Jordan Clarkson gives the Philippines its first double-digit lead off a trey
• GILAS PILIPINAS 56-48: Jordan Clarkson completes and-one
• GILAS PILIPINAS 53-48: Jordan Clarkson converts the tough basket
• GILAS PILIPINAS 51-48: Rhenz Abando unloads the trey
• 48-48: Jordan Clarkson slithers his way inside for the floater
• CHINA 48-46: Hu Jinqiu with the putback
• 46-46: Dwight Ramos with another game-tying bucket
• CHINA 46-44: Zhang Zhenlin adds another basket to his tally
• 44-44: Dwight Ramos ties game with a pair of foul shots
• CHINA 44-42: Jordan Clarkson stops on a dime, drains the jumper
• CHINA 44-40: AJ Edu splits his free throws
• CHINA 44-39: Hu Jinqiu inside
• CHINA 42-39: Fu Hao opens the second-half scoring

Halftime performers

• Jordan Clarkson (PHI) – 9 points, 2 rebounds
• Rhenz Abando (PHI) – 7 points, 2 rebounds
• Roger Pogoy (PHI) – 7 points
• Kyle Anderson (CHN) – 11 points, 7 rebounds
• Zhang Zhenlin (CHN) – 11 points

Second quarter

• END OF 2Q: China enters the break with a slim 40-39 lead over Gilas Pilipinas
• CHINA 40-39: Jordan Clarkson beats the halftime buzzer
• CHINA 40-37: Hu Jinqiu 2/2 at the line
• CHINA 38-37: Kyle Anderson for the lead
• GILAS PILIPINAS 37-36: Kyle Anderson completes three-point play
• GILAS PILIPINAS 37-33: Jordan Clarkson free throws are goodx
• GILAS PILIPINAS 35-33: Kyle Anderson goes 2/2 at the stripe
• GILAS PILIPINAS 35-31: Roger Pogoy sells the pump fake, buries floater
• GILAS PILIPINAS 33-31: Hu Mingxuan converts his freebies
• GILAS PILIPINAS 33-29: Kai Sotto scores plus the foul
• GILAS PILIPINAS 31-29: Hu Jinqiu 2/2 at the line
• GILAS PILIPINAS 31-27: June Mar Fajardo misses first foul shot, makes second
• GILAS PILIPINAS 30-27: Hu Mingxuan for three
• GILAS PILIPINAS 30-24: June Mar Fajardo scores down low
• GILAS PILIPINAS 28-24: Zhao Rui layup is good
• GILAS PILIPINAS 28-22: Rhenz Abando goes perfect with his free throws
• GILAS PILIPINAS 26-22: Zhang Zhenlin stops and pops for the jumper
• GILAS PILIPINAS 26-20: Rhenz Abando with the rim rattler
• GILAS PILIPINAS 24-20: Zhou Qi gets the tough bucket to go plus the foul, but he subs out
• GILAS PILIPINAS 24-18: Rhenz Abando buries the wide-open trey
• GILAS PILIPINAS 21-18: Kyle Anderson 2/2 at the line
• GILAS PILIPINAS 21-16: Jordan Clarkson splits his foul shots
• GILAS PILIPINAS 20-16: Jordan Clarkson to AJ Edu for the alley-oop
• GILAS PILIPINAS 18-16: Scottie Thompson attacks strong

First quarter

• END OF 1Q: Gilas Pilipinas in equal footing with China, 16-16
• 16-16: Kyle Anderson hits the midrange jumper
• GILAS PILIPINAS 16-14: Kai Sotto with the putback dunk off a Kiefer Ravena miss
• 14-14: Jordan Clarkson sinks his freebies
• CHINA 14-12: Jordan Clarkson goes coast to coast
• CHINA 14-10: Zhang Zhenlin on fire as he scores on a layup
• CHINA 12-10: Zhang Zhenlin again, this time with the triple
• GILAS PILIPINAS 10-9: Zhang Zhenlin slams it home off a Kyle Anderson assist
• GILAS PILIPINAS 10-7: Zhu Junlong cans the trey
• GILAS PILIPINAS 10-4: Zhang Zhenlin 2/2 at the line
• GILAS PILIPINAS 10-2: Dwight Ramos from deep
• GILAS PILIPINAS 7-2: Zhao Rui puts China on the board
• GILAS PILIPINAS 7-0: Roger Pogoy with the steal and the layup
• GILAS PILIPINAS 5-0: June Mar Fajardo banks it in
• GILAS PILIPINAS 3-0: Roger Pogoy opens the game with a trey

Starting five

• GILAS PILIPINAS: Jordan Clarkson, June Mar Fajardo, Dwight Ramos, Roger Pogoy, AJ Edu
• CHINA: Kyle Anderson, Fu Hao, Zhang Zhenlin, Zhao Rui, Zhou Qi

Preview

One last shot.

Gilas Pilipinas gets a final chance to salvage its forgettable FIBA World Cup campaign as it looks to score a breakthrough win over China to close out the classification phase at the Araneta Coliseum on Saturday, September 2.

A victory over Team Dragon will be the Filipinos’ first in the World Cup in nearly a decade, or since they beat Senegal in the 2014 edition.

The Philippines has not won in the World Cup since, losing all of its five games four years ago in China and dropping its first four matches in this edition that it co-hosts with Japan and Indonesia.

Another loss will mark the first time a World Cup host went winless since Colombia lost all of its six games in its hosting of the 1982 edition.

Only two host nations have ended the World Cup without a single win, the other time happening in 1978 when the Philippines ended its campaign with a 0-8 record.

Utah Jazz star Jordan Clarkson eyes payback against China five years after his international debut for Gilas Pilipinas ended in disappointment at the hands of Team Dragon in the 2018 Asian Games.

Clarkson, then still playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers, finished with 28 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals, but the Filipinos fell short and absorbed an 82-80 loss.

That game marked the last time the Philippines crossed paths with China.

Led by Minnesota Timberwolves forward Kyle Anderson, China seeks to end the World Cup with back-to-back wins after breaking through with an 83-76 victory over Angola at the start of the classification round.

Game time is 8 pm. – Rappler.com