ONE AFTER THE OTHER

Gilas Pilipinas delivered a two-game streak of their Middle East journey with a
76-63 triumph against Saudi Arabia in the fifth window of the 2023 FIBA World
Cup Asian Qualifiers on Sunday evening that transpired at the King Abdullah Sports
City in Jeddah.

Roger Pogoy and cornerstone Dwight Ramos each provided 13 points to

pave the way for the Philippines to achieve their 5-3 standing for its first
sweep of a window in the showcase being used to prepare for the global meet
set here on August next year.

“I thought they came hard, came with a very good game plan and we
expected it,” national coach Chot Reyes said in the post-game presser.

“We knew the high quality of this team so we mentally prepared

ourselves to struggle, especially after coming from a tough game in Jordan.
Luckily we stayed patient through our early struggles,” he went on.

Kai Sotto and CJ Perez made an impact once again, as Sotto handed 11
points, nine rebounds and five blocks, while Perez had 10 points and four
rebounds.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia became a problem at their home court. By the

hands of Mathna Almarwani and Khalid Abdel Gabar, the hosts came up
with 61-69 with 2:08 on the clock.
 Do-it-all Scottie Thompson yielded his finest game coming-up with 9
points and nine rebounds.

Philippines, however, focused on their goal as the game progressed,

dooming Saudi to a 2-6 record while coming up with yet another victory
even without the Filipino-American Jordan Clarkson, who is neck-deep in
running the Utah Jazz in the newly-started NBA Season.

“In the first half, we were too excited. We had a lot of turnovers. Good
thing, we got to recover in the second half and pull it off,” quoted
Thompson.

“I think we got a lot of energy from the crowd. They really gave us a
huge boost and did not allow us to lose, until we hit our stride, and hit our
shots in the third quarter. And we were able to use our defense essentially
to pull off the victory,” said Reyes.

Gilas Pilipinas is now setting to prepare for their upcoming game soon
with Lebanon occurring on February 24, 2023.