Dominicans overcome record crowd, Clarkson to beat Philippines

MANILA (Philippines) - Dominican Republic spoiled the party as they knocked off FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 co-hosts Philippines 87-81 in front of a record-breaking crowd in their Group A opener.

Neither team could really pull away for most of the game which proved to a showdown of the sides' NBA stars with Karl-Anthony Towns getting the better of Jordan Clarkson, despite the latter scoring 28 points until fouling out in the closing stages.

The Dominicans collected their second win over the Asians following their 94-67 victory in the group stage of the 2020 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament Belgrade. A massive crowd of 38,115 fans flocked to Philippine Arena for the game against the Dominicans, eclipsing the previous mark for the most spectators at a World Cup game indoors of 32,616 for the World Cup 1994 Final at the SkyDome in Toronto, Canada.

The turning point​: Philippines were fighting all game thanks to Clarkson, but he fouled out on an offensive foul with 3:32 minutes to play and his team down 79-76. Towns and Victor Liz both hit layups and the lead was 84-79. Scottie Thompson turned the call over with 32 seconds to go and Jean Montero finished the deal.

TCL player of the Game​: Towns was Dominican Republic's go-to guy and while he struggled from the field - making just 5-of-16 shots - he drained 15-of-16 free throws for 26 points. The NBA center also grabbed 10 rebounds in the wins.

Stats don't lie​: The Dominicans grabbed 17 offensive rebounds compared to 3 for the hosts and held Philippines to just 6-of-18 (33 percent from long range. The Caribbean nation also forced 19 turnovers.

Bottom Line​: Dominican Republic showed their resilience against the hosts and next take on fellow opening night winners Italy on Sunday, August 27 in a game that will likely decide first place in the group. Philippines now must re-group for essentially a must-win against Angola later in the evening if the host nation wants to reach the Second Round.

They said: "That was a really tough game. We really respect the Philippines team. They play really good basketball. For us it was difficult to stop Clarkson. He can create and score. The game was tight for 37 minutes but we know that we always play good in the last minutes. We stayed calm because we know when it's our moment." - Dominican Republic coach Nester Garcia

"(Philippines) are hard working, play fast, play hard. You can see the pride they have for their country. I respect them tremendously. They are just a great team. We just found a way to stay disciplined. My teammates were amazing. I am so happy that we are able to get the first game in the World Cup in the books with a W." - Dominican Republic center Karl-Anthony Towns

"It's insane what they put out there today. You have to give them credit. They came out and supported their team and they should be proud of that. It wasn't pretty for us but it doesn't have to be pretty as long as you get the win. We have to improve the stuff we didn't do well today and get tighter on the little things. It was the first game. We take a lot from this. It was the first game and we get a win even without doing a lot of things good." - Dominican Republic guard Andres Feliz

"For me this was like a blur. We never thought it would be this kind of game, this tough of a game. Clarkson obviously is an NBA player. He scored a lot and had the ball a lot in his hands. We need to be more in touch with our principles as a team." - Dominican Republic guard Jean Montero

"I really love the fight of our players. They competed hard. Unfortunately with the disqualification of Jordan (Clarkson) it was a big blow to us. We can't worry about that now. We have to focus on our next game." - Philippines coach Chot Reyes

"I’m a little upset. The game is physical. Some things didn't go our way towards the end. Playing physical is part of the FIBA game, we understand that. We had a chance to win the game. The crowd was amazing. They supported us. I'm upset that we lost but we have more games here. - Philippines guard Jordan Clarkson

"It wasn't good enough for us. JC (Clarkson) fouled out in the last few minutes and that hurt. We need to stay positive no matter who our opponent is and stay hungry. The crowd was our sixth man and they gave us so much energy." - Philippines guard Scottie Thompson

"For me it was a huge blessing to be out there in this game. For those who know my history, you know I have gone through a lot of injuries since the last time I have represented Gilas. Just to do it on a stage like this and compete at this level was a huge blessing." - Philippines center AJ Edu

Press conference

The game report will be updated shortly. Check back soon for Game Highlights.

FIBA