MANILA – The Gilas Pilipinas finally concluded their 2023 FIBA World Cup campaign after beating China in their swan song game of the tournament. Gilas rode Clarkson's 34-point outburst (24 points in the 3rd) as they dismantled China, 96-75, in their last game of the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup at the Araneta Coliseum on Saturday evening, September 2, 2023.
Gilas only trailed China by one point to end the first half, 39-40, but the nationals held their opponent scoreless for over two minutes late in the third as Clarkson went full ham as he would go on to torch China in the third with an array of mid-range shots and a barrage of three-point bombs, scoring 24 points in the third quarter while sinking five three-pointers in the game.
Gilas would lead an avalanche behind Clarkson’s otherworldly performance as they saw themselves up by 20 points to enter the 4th quarter fray, 75-55. This lead ballooned to a 25-point advantage after Scottie Thompson and AJ Edu sparked a short 8-3 run to eventually close the Chinese out with an impressive 96-75 victory.
This win improves Gilas’ record to 1-4, as they avoided going winless in the tournament.
Clarkson finished with 34 points, 3 assists, and 2 rebounds, leading the nationals. Rhenz Abando added 14 points and 5 rebounds, while Filipino prodigy Kai Sotto tallied 12 points and 6 rebounds to help the team.
After the game, Clarkson talked about his third-quarter performance and how challenging it has been throughout the whole tournament.
"We just continued to stick with it. My teammates have been finding me in transition, getting some open shots. I feel like this whole World Cup, I haven’t been able to get free and get into a super crazy rhythm just because [of] how defenses were playing and stuff like that," he said.
With an impressive opening game, losing only by six points (87-81) against the Dominican Republic behind NBA star Karl-Anthony Towns, Gilas showed a lot of potential and promise. However, they went on to lose their next three games in the group stage against Angola (80-90), Italy (83-90), and their worst loss of the tournament against South Sudan (68-87).
During the post-game press conference, Chot Reyes announced his decision to step down as Gilas head coach.
"I always said, ‘Judge us on our performance in the World Cup regardless of what happened between the time I was appointed,’ and today I said judge us by our performance, and obviously, we did not perform. We did not perform, and just like the last game, I take full accountability, and because of that, I think it’s time for me to step aside," he said.
"I hate using the word resign because I’m not a quitter. I am not a quitter. I would just like to emphasize to everyone who is asking for that. But at the same time, I signed up to do a job and we did not deliver the result," he added.
Furthermore, Gilas’ win against China ensures a top-24 finish in the tournament, second in their group. This allows the nationals to have a chance to book a spot at the 2024 Paris Olympics through the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament, where the remaining four slots will be decided.