Gilas Pilipinas guard Jordan Clarkson goes for a layup past Lebanon’s Wael Arakji in the Fiba World Cup Asian qualifiers. Photo by Fiba
MANILA, Philippines — Jordan Clarkson lamented his misses down the stretch in Gilas Pilipinas’ 85-81 loss to Lebanon but remained upbeat after his debut in the Fiba World Cup 2023 Asian Qualifiers on Friday.
Despite his 27-point outing in his first national team stint in four years, the Utah Jazz guard just couldn’t hit the crucial ones in the final two minutes of the game, including a potential go-ahead floater when the game was tied with 1:18 remaining.
Clarkson held himself accountable for his missed opportunities.
“We had a chance to win the game. I missed some shots towards the end of the game and I feel like I usually make as well, so just a tough one tonight,” said the Filipino-American guard, who shot 6-of-17 from the field and only made two three-pointers out of nine attempts.
On the other hand, Lebanon’s Fiba Asia Cup MVP Wael Arakji put the game to bed with the game-clinching triple, 83-78, with 18 seconds to go. Arakji, who finished with 24 points, then hit the “Night, Night” celebration after his clutch basket.
Lebanon’s Wael Arakji and his teammates celebrate after winning over Gilas Pilipinas in Beirut. Photo by Fiba
Despite the tough loss, the 2021 NBA Sixth Man of the Year opted to look at the positives, praising 7-foot-3 prodigy Kai Sotto and Dwight Ramos, who chipped in 18 points, 10 rebounds and six steals.
“For us, this is bright. We’re just getting this team together. We got some good young stars on the team. Dwight played really well tonight as well, Kai played well. I think it was all around really good effort,” said Clarkson.
Clarkson lauded Gilas’ fight against the Asia Cup runner-up but cited the team’s 21 turnovers that proved too costly.
“I think we did a good job of competing. Coach (Chot Reyes) prepared us really well, trying to scout this team now. We had a great game plan coming in,” he said. “Like he said, with all the turnovers, we’re gonna miss shots, stuff like that. But you know it’s hard to win when you have 20 plus turnovers in a game like this, especially with the home crowd behind them.”
With Gilas dropping to 2-3 in Group E, Clarkson is eager to bounce back when he plays in his first home game against Saudi Arabia on Monday at Mall of Asia Arena.
“We just got to take it on the head and get back to the drawing board and you know we going back to Manila. We got Saudi Arabia, so I’ll be prepared and be prepared for that. We’ll try to get a win at home,” he said.
