FIBA World Cup 2023: Karl-Anthony Towns, Dominican Republic defeat Philippines 87-81 in Group A
Towns produced a double-double 26 points and 10 rebounds to spearhead the Dominicans to victory over a tenacious Gilas Pilipinas fronted by Jordan Clarkson.
Basketball
Karl-Anthony Towns led the way with 26 points and 10 rebounds as the Dominican Republic edged out the Philippines 87-81 to win the second game of Group A at the 2023 FIBA World Cup on Friday night (25 August).
Despite the record-breaking crowd of 38,115 fans gathered in the Mall of Asia Arena the Gilas Pilipinas were unable to cling on as the Dominicans capitalised on the ejection of Jordan Clarkson to produce a final 21-17 quarter and seal the win.
The game was tightly fought from start to finish. After going down 22-18 in the opening quarter, the hosts were able to bounce back, tying things at 42-42 at half-time.
With just two points separating the sides going into the final frame, things remained edgy. The lead continued to exchange hands until six minutes to go when the Dominicans took pole position from the Filipinos.
Clarkson, who ended the game leading all scorers with 28 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and two steals, was fouled out of the game with 3:32 remaining. The Dominicans, via the pressure of Towns, were then able to stay out in front for the win.
Victor Liz added 18 points and four steals and Andres Feliz contributed 12 points.
Speaking afterwards in the post-match press conference Philippines; coach Chot Reyes said:
“I really loved the fight of our players. They competed; they competed hard. Unfortunately, though, with the disqualification of Jordan [Clarkson] it was really a big blow for us."
On the ejection of their star NBA player Reyes didn't offer much and in turn, said everything he needed to about his opinion on the decision: “I might get fined and we’re a PG13 audience here," the coach said wryly.
The Gilas' next game will be against Angola on Sunday night and Reyes pointed at the areas for change going into the match.
"We have to make some adjustments in our offence. Today we had 19 turnovers and that was big. We shot the ball well, we shot the ball better than the Dominicans but they just had a lot more attempts than we did.
"So the story was our 19 turnovers and we gave up 17 offensive rebounds so that was it. We have to make sure we are able to cope with the defensive pressure of Angola."