Gilas Pilipinas will remain undefeated as they beat Saudi Arabia in the Window 5 of the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifier 2023. The game was held at the King Abdullah Sports City, in Jeddah, even though it’s the home court of Saudi Arabian team, the crowd was predominantly composed of OFW, which felt more like a home for the Filipino cagers.
It a close game at the start, where both teams came out firing in all cylinders, it was a tie game (16-16) by the end of the first quarter. Gilas Pilipinas started to pickup steam in the 2nd quarter, where they scored a game high of 25 points, and ended the first half holding on to a 6 point lead.
It’s in the 3rd qtr when the Gilas started to separate themselves with the help of Roger Pogoy who contributed 13 pts on a 5 to 12 shooting. But it was Kai Sotto to made the most contribution chipping in 11 points, a game high 9 rebounds and 5 blocks, with 2 assists, 1 steal on a 23 player efficiency (EFF).
A dominant Kai Sotto outing towed the Philippines past Saudi Arabia and into a sweep of Window 5! 💪#FIBAWC x #WinForPilipinas 🇵🇭
📺 Watch live games and extended highlights on Courtside1891 https://t.co/bzlIOrnFkg pic.twitter.com/tvek4vWVKL
— FIBA Basketball World Cup (@FIBAWC) November 13, 2022
In the 4th quarters, the Saudi tried to make one last push but with the leadership and timely hustle plays of Scottie Thompsons with 9 pts, 3 assists, 9 rebs and 2 steals on a 18 eff, Gilas made sure that it will a night to remember for all the OFW in the arena.
Saudi Arabia vs 🇵🇭 Philippines | Basketball Highlights
Here are the scores;
By Quarters: 16-16, 31-25, 55-45, 76-63.
Philippines 76 – D. Ramos 13, R. Pogoy 13, K. Sotto 11, C. Perez 10, S. Thompson 9, B. Parks 8, J. Aguilar 6, A. Kouame 5, J. Malonzo 1, C. Oftana 0, P. Erram 0, K. Quiambao 0.
Saudi Arabia 63 – Ma. Almarwani 19, Abdel Gabar 16, Mo. Almarwani 8, M. Kadi 6, H. Aljohar 5, A. Ashoor 4, Ali Shubayli 2, T. Mohammed 2, F. Belal 1, M. Saleh 0, A. Almuwallad 0, O. Albargawi 0.
Image: FIBA
