JAKARTA—Kazakhstan was a threat only on paper, and there was actually no need for National Basketball Association (NBA) player Jordan Clarkson to bring his act for the national team in its Jakarta Palembang 18th Asian Games debut.
No need, indeed for Clarkson as the Filipino dribblers crushed the Kazakhs, 96-59, on Thursday morning to secure a slot in the knockout quarterfinals of the men’s basketball competition at the Gelora Bung Karno Sports Complex Basketball Hall.
For Head Coach Yeng Guiao, defense was the key to the rousing win.
“We were able to disrupt their offense. We were able to challenge their shots. Our anticipation was good, and that’s because of the scouting that we did and the implementation and the execution of our game plan,” said Guiao as he praised his coaching staff, led by Caloy Garcia.
The Kazakhs shot only 13 of their 32 two-point attempts (41 percent) and missed most of their treys, sinking only five of 28 attempts (18 percent) to find themselves in a tight fix of having to beat China in their next game to stay alive in the group.
The Filipinos, on the other hand, had their guns ablaze from the two-point range (23 of 39 for 59 percent)—although they hit 12 triples on a 31-percent clip—an aspect of their game they need to improve on to stand a chance against the tall and fast Chinese, who will be backstopped by NBA players Zhou Qi of the Houston Rockets and Ding Yanyuhang of the Dallas Mavericks.
“Now the next mission is China,” Guiao said. “It can’t get any better as far as the situation is concerned—this is the way you want to build up the confidence and the momentum going to the China game.”
“We have four days to fit in JC [Clarkson], and then we’ll try to give China a good challenge,” Guiao added. “I appreciate the fact that Jordan Clarkson tried to catch up with the game coming off the plane. That gave them [players] a lot of motivation just seeing him there.”
“It’s just a big relief that we made the next round. With the short preparation, the guys proved that they have the big hearts, and they can play the international brand of play,” Guiao said.
Clarkson arrived at the venue late in the third quarter and watched the game from the stands with former Houston Rockets Star, Yao Ming, who now heads the Chinese Basketball Association.
“Yes, sir!” said Clarkson, who joined the team’s Thursday afternoon practice.
Stanley Pringle led the Philippines with 18 points, while Christian Standhardinger had 15 points.
Paul Lee and James Yap, two players involved in a blockbuster deal two years ago in the Philippine Basketball Association, came off the bench to contribute 12 and 10 points for the Rain or Shine-backed team.
Pringle was 6 of 9 from the field and also pulled down four rebounds and dished out two assists as the Filipinos showed crisp ball movement on the half court set and an effective transition game behind Maverick Ahanmisi and Chris Tiu.
They jumped to a 22-2 lead and 41-20 at the half. They never cooled down after that.
Yap played with young-looking legs and complimented his all-around effort with five rebounds, one steal and one block.
The Philippines-China game is set on August 21, a national holiday back home that commemorates the assassination of former Sen. Benigno Aquino Jr.