Sorry loss for Gilas Pilipinas.
The Philippines broke down in the final minute as China escaped with a pulsating 82-80 win in the 2018 Asian Games Tuesday at the GBK Basket Hall in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Trailing for most of the game, Gilas looked like it was on its way to victory after taking an 80-77 lead with 1:23 to go following an undergoal stab from Stanley Pringle.
However, that proved to be the last score for the Philippines as China took advantage of Gilas breaking down in multiple possession to steal the win.
Zhou Qi first split his free throws with 1:12 to go to put China within two, 78-80. The Chinese then forced a turnover on Gilas that led to a fastbreak layup for Zhao Rui to tie the game at 80 in the last 46 seconds.
Gilas had the chance to put the game away for good but Jordan Clarkson and Christian Standhardinger each missed decent attempts at the rim.
Jordan then gave up a foul to Zhao and the Chinese guard ended up hitting two clutch free throws for the game's final tally.
Paul Lee missed a final triple attempt for Gilas with six seconds to go as China completed its great escape.
After a quick 5-0 start, Gilas trailed China for most of the game as Zhou Qi dominated on both ends of the floor. The 22-year-old Houston Rocket had 17 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 blocks at halftime.
Zhou went on to finish with 25 points, 12 rebounds, and 7 blocks to lead the Chinese. Wang Zhelin added 13 points while Abudushalamu Abudurexiti scored 12 points. Game hero Zhao Rui had 11.
Wang led the China offense to start the third as they tried to put Gilas away.
However, Clarkson exploded for the Philippines, unloading 16 points including three straight triples that allowed Gilas to tie things up at 55.
In the fourth, it was Abudurexiti's turn to dominate for the Chinese, helping the Great Wall re-establish a 10-point lead, 72-62.
Clarkson went scoreless in the fourth and ultimately dealt with cramps. In his place, Paul Lee and Stanley Pringle went off to put the Philippines in position to win.
Pringle beat Zhou at the rim to push Gilas within three, 71-74 with 4:21 to go. Lee then buried a tough three-pointer at the shotclock buzzer to tie the game at 74 about 45 seconds later.
Standhardiner finally gave the Philippines the lead anew, 76-74, after a perfect trip to the line with 3:09 to go.
Clarkson finished with 28 points in his Gilas debut while Standhardinger scored 18 points and grabbed 8 rebounds in 26 minutes off the bench.
Pringle and Lee dropped 14 and 10 points respectively.
Despite the loss, the Philippines is expected to move on to the next round however, Gilas is on a collision course with old nemesis South Korea in the knockout quarterfinals.
The Scores:
CHINA, 82 - Zhou 25, Wang 13, Abudurexiti 12, Zhao 11, Ding 7, Sun 6, Lui 5, Tian 2, Dong 1.
PHILIPPINES, 80 - Clarkson 28, Standhardinger 18, Pringle 14, Lee 10, Erram 6, Belga 2, Almazan 2.
Quarterscores: 20-12, 36-31, 59-57, 82-80
