By Isabella Magno

The Philippine national men’s basketball team sailed to a whopping 84-46 victory against Saudi Arabia in the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers game on Monday, August 29, at the Mall of Asia Arena.

The win of the 34th-ranked Gilas Pilipinas over the 80th-ranked Saudi Arabia atoned for the former’s 81-85 defeat to Lebanon just three days before the bout.

With 19,829 individuals watching the match in Pasay City, the whole arena hurrahed to the performance of the team on National Heroes’ Day, where Filipino-American NBA player Jordan Clarkson led the squad with 23 points, 6 assists, and 5 rebounds.

“It feels great. I know Filipinos got my back and I got theirs as well. […] Support us, support the coaching staff, and support everybody,” Clarkson said as he expressed his appreciation to all the fans who extended their support during the match. 

The Score

According to the Philippine Inquirer’s score report, each member of the Philippine Team contributed the following total scores to the progression of their standing in the game: Clarkson 23, Sotto 16, Ramos 9, Aguilar 8, K. Ravena 8, Parks 6, Oftana 6, T. Ravena 4, Thompson 2, Malonzo 2, Newsome 0, Adams 0.

Thumbnail from FIBA