Steve Kerr has said it over and over again, the most important thing for American players is to adapt to the FIBA rules. Unfortunately, Jordan Clarkson played with fire, and he got burned. The leader of the Philippines received a 5th foul less than four minutes from the end, while the Filipinos were only three points behind the Dominican Republic.
Although Clarkson wasted a lot of ammunition (9/24 on shots, 8 stray bullets), he was the No. 1 danger on his roster with 28 points, 7 assists and 7 rebounds, and his exit ended the hopes of the beaten Philippines. 87-81 in front of their home crowd. A record audience: 38,115 spectators. This is the new absolute record for a World Cup match. The old record dated from the 1994 World Cup in Canada.
“I’m a little disappointed… Basketball is physical. Some things didn’t go our way in the end. The physical game is part of FIBA basketball. We are aware of it” secures the rear of the Jazz. “We had the opportunity to win the game. I am through defeat but there are still matches to be had.
Like France, the Philippines will have to win the next two games to secure a place in the second round, and it will be against Italy and Angola. “We must continue to fight like today” continues Clarkson. “We fought. We have to finish the matches better and move on to the next one. »
In the end, what made Clarkson smile again was seeing those 38,000 spectators in the stands. “I’m glad everyone came out to support us. I’m disappointed that we didn’t win…”
