CLARKSON, ABANDO NOT ENOUGH AS GILAS LOSES TO ITALY FOR THIRD LOSS

The losing spell of Gilas Pilipinas continued on Tuesday, August 29, 2023 when they lost to Italy, 90-82, in the FIBA Basketball World Cup at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.

Gilas finished the group stage with a 0-3 win-loss record and was ousted from contention to proceed in the second round.

Instead, Gilas was relegated to the classification phase where they would play two more games – possibly against South Sudan and China, to get the best finish possible.

Jordan Clarkson carried the fight for Gilas Pilipinas as he had 23 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists in going up against fellow Utah Jazz teammate Simone Fontecchio who had 18 points in the win.

Rhenz Abando was active on both ends with the extended minutes he played and wound up with 8 points, 2 rebounds, and 1 block.

In the end, Italy’s three-point shooting finally clicked when they shot 17-of-41 from rainbow country after a dismal 20 percent shooting in the first two games.

Marco Spissu was named the best player of the game after he had 13 points and 9 assists in the Italy victory as they joined Dominican Republic in the second round.

Dwight Ramos also chipped in, on offence for Gilas Pilipinas, and had 14 points but shot just 5-of-13 from the field.

Roger Pogoy scored nine points, all on three-pointers, while AJ Edu had 8 points and 8 rebounds for Gilas Pilipinas.