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Gilas Pilipinas defeated China for their first win in the Classification round of the FIBA World Cup 2023

September 3, 2023
Image: @FIBA

The Philippine national basketball team, Gilas Pilipinas, secured a rousing and convincing win against China in the 2023 FIBA World Cup. The game was held at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on September 2, 2023. The Philippines capped off its World Cup campaign with a 1-4 win-loss slate.

The game was close in teh first half of the game, with neither team able to pull away. But in the 3rd quarter, led by Jordan Clarkson, Rhenz Abando and Dwight Ramos, Gilas was able to build a 23 point cushion by the end of 3rd qtr and led by as many as 25 points at 5:19 mark of the 4th quarter, China tried to catch up but the game was already decided at that point. The trio scored a total 59 points.

Jordan Clarkson had 34 points, two boards, and three dimes while Rhenz Abando contributed 14 markers and 5 rebs. Dwight Ramos chipped in 11 pts, 5 rebs and 4 assists. On the otherhand, Kyle Anderson (Kaier Li) led the Chinese team with 17 points, 9 reds and 5 assists while Zhenlin Zhang added 13 pts, 3 rebs.

The victory against China has lifted the Philippines to 24th place in the 2023 FIBA World Cup rankings and secure a slot for the Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT). which is the “16 following next best-ranked teams” category or the next best 16 placers in the World Cup that have not secured a place in the Olympics.

Highlights

The FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament, abbreviated as FIBA World OQT, and formerly known as the FIBA Pre-Olympic Basketball Tournament, is the last qualifying tournament for the Olympic Basketball Tournament. The best non-champions from the different FIBA World zones qualify for the tournament and compete for the last remaining berths in the Summer Olympic Games.

Compared to the World Cup Tournament, the Olympic Qualifying Tournament will be a more difficult competition, since Philippines will face other teams from different continents including Europe, Africa, and the Americas.

Published in Basketball, FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 and Sports