Gilas Pilipinas put on a show in the second half to whip Saudi Arabia, 84-46, on Monday night in the fourth window of the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Gilas got off to a slow start and allowed the visiting opponent to end the first quarter with an 11-14 lead.
The Filipinos still struggled in the second stanza although they managed to take a 37-28 lead at bend.
With no less than President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. egging them on, the second half was a totally different story for Gilas.
Led by NBA star Jordan Clarkson, Gilas whipped a third quarter-storm, staging a 24-8 attack and broke the game wide open by building a 61-36 lead, heading into the final canto.
Clarkson wowed the 19,829 fans who rocked the venue throughout the match with the Utah Jazz star piling up 23 points, six assists, five rebounds in 28 minutes of action.
Kai Sotto was the only other Gilas to score in double figures with 16 points on top of 13 rebounds and four blocks.
Dwight Ramos pitched in nine points, while Kiefer Ravena and Japeth Aguilar added eight apiece as Gilas improved to 3-3 (win-loss) in Group E.
Saudi Arabia, ranked 80th on the FIBA world rankings, had no player scoring in double figures as it tasted its fifth loss in six games.
Mathna Almarwani, Musab Tariq M Kadi and Khalid M Abdel Gabar paced Saudi Arabia with nine points each.
Gilas will be on the road for their next two games. They will play Jordan on November 10 before taking on Saudi Arabia on November 13.
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