Philippines dominates Syria for 5th place in Asian Games basketball

The Philippines ended its campaign with an impressive rout after dismantling Syria, 109-55, in dominating fashion to take the fifth place in the men’s basketball competition of the 2018 Asian Games Friday at GBK-ISTORA in Jakarta.

The Filipinos fell to the classification stage after losing to Korea 91-82 in the quarterfinals.

Right from the get-go, the Philippines established its dominance ending the first quarter with a 38-16 lead and never looking back.

Jordan Clarkson led the Filipinos with 29 points, four rebounds, and six assists while Christian Standhardinger muscled his way to 27 points and 15 boards.

Tarek Aljabi had 23 points and five rebounds to lead the Syrians.

The fifth seed is the Philippines’ best campaign in the continental games since it finished 4th in 2002 in Korea.

The Philippines have yet to replicate its success in the first four Asian Games when it was the undisputed ruler of the parquet floor winning four straight gold medals from 1951 to 1962.