Arakji clutch as Lebanon frustrates Gilas Pilipinas
What was expected to be a saving grace turned out to be just another nightmare to add to the pile of frustrations for Gilas Pilipinas.
Not even the addition of a legitimate NBA star in Jordan Clarkson could spare Gilas from another stinging defeat as FIBA Asia Cup MVP Wael Arakji took charge late for Lebanon to hack out a 85-81 decision in the fourth window of the 2023 World Cup Asian qualifiers at the Nouhad Nawfal Sports Complex in Zouk Mikael on the wee hours of Friday, Aug. 26.
The Cedars endured a blistering start from Gilas before they engaged the Filipinos to a nip-and-tuck affair throughout the game which ended with Arakji providing the clutch baskets from Lebanon and coming away with the huge morale-boosting win against a loaded Filipino side.
Arakji unloaded 24 points including seven of the last nine points to power a late rally that allowed the Cedars to pull away for good.
Tied 78-all, the main man for the Cedars came to life with a pair of free throws and a booming right corner triple off a second chance to put Lebanon on the driver seat, 83-78 with 12 ticks left in the clock.
Clarkson and Kai Sotto tried to answer on the other end but could only muster a point in the next possession before another pair of free throws from Arakji put Gilas to sleep.
Clarkson proved to be a cut above the rest with 27 points, seven assists and six rebounds while Dwight Ramos provided support with 18 points and 10 rebounds – all of which went down the drain as Gilas will be coming back home from another disappointing game.
Gilas actually had its best start in a long while as they took a 17-7 lead early on behind the efforts of Ramos and Clarkson. The Filipinos however failed to sustain the impressive start as the Lebanese easily capitalized on the 21 turnovers of Gilas.
The nationals also struggled to put the clamps down on Lebanon as it started to find the mark from beyond the arc behind Amir Saoud and Ali Haidar who finished with 17 and 10 points respectively.
Gilas though had some flashes of brilliance especially towards the end when the Filipinos uncorked a 6-0 spurt courtesy of an alley-oop dunk from Sotto and a trey from Ramos, both off Clarkson assists to take a 74-71 lead. That, however, proved to be the final stand for the Filipinos as they couldn’t find an answer to Arakji in the end game.