Amid boos aimed at their head coach, Philippines bounced back from their tough loss to Lebanon four days ago with an emphatic 84-46 win over Saudi Arabia before an adoring home crowd Monday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
The result meant Gilas Pilipinas finished the fourth window of 2023 FIBA World Cup Asian qualifiers with a 1-1 record.
Jordan Clarkson had 23 points while Kai Sotto added 16 points and 13 rebounds for Gilas, who improved to 3-3 in Group E.
A slow start by Gilas saw Saudi Arabia take a 14-8 lead late in the first period.
But Clarkson beat the buzzer with a long triple that electrified the crowd and paved the way for Gilas to stamp their class as they limited the visitors to just 32 points over the last three quarters.
"The one thing that we wanted was to just get better, to play better than the previous game against Lebanon," Gilas coach Chot Reyes said. "And that meant having better effort, specifically cutting down on our turnovers from the 21 in Lebanon to something less today."
"I think we did a good job," Clarkson added. "I think we made some adjustments during the game. We know they were trying to slow us down, trying to change the pace and slow it so we couldn't get out and run and get opportunities when we were in the open floor. Coach made a good adjustment, picking them up, changing the pace of the game."
Saudi Arabia coach Mohamed Mounir Youssef lamented his side's inability to play consistently.
"I think we played very good basketball for the first 15 or 16 minutes. But in the second half we didn't perform at a good basketball level. It was a very tough night offensively."
Gilas will face Jordan and Saudi Arabia on Nov. 10 and 13 respectively in the next window.
Reyes said a plan is in place already for player availability, explaining: "We've already talked about it with the PBA. They're going to make players available. Same thing with the UAAP and NCAA.
"In the last SBP general meeting last month, they already said that the UAAP and the NCAA are willing to, if necessary, call a two-week break to their schedule to allow players that we may select to come and play in the November window.
"The same thing with the PBA. We're looking forward to that. Nothing is set in stone yet, but the discussion have already started."
For now, here are three thoughts from Monday's game.
Chot gets booed
Reyes is still public enemy No. 1 in the eyes of Filipino basketball fans.
Each time he was shown on the arena's jumbotron, the crowd of over 19,000 booed lustily.
Clarkson came to his coach's defense and called out the fans afterwards, stating: "He's part of us. He's one of us. You hear the boos going on in the crowd or whatever's going on.
"I'm not here a lot throughout the year so I don't know what's going on. But from what I've seen from these last days, there's kind of been some bulls--t.
"Excuse my language. I don't know if I can get fined by FIBA for cussing. But yeah, he's our coach, he's one of us. He works hard. He puts all this together.
"From what I've been hearing, he walked away from the game. He came back. He ain't gotta deal with none of this s--t. He ain't gotta deal with none of the boos, he ain't gotta deal with none of the threats people giving to his family.
"He's coming back to this game 'cause he loves it, he loves the country, he loves this team."
Clarkson revealed that Reyes first got in touch with him around ten years ago to first broach the idea of playing for the Philippines, as he added: "Coach was the first person who talked to me. It was about like, ten years ago, almost it feels like when I was just going into college.
"Just being here, sitting next to him. You know, this is all what we envisioned, honestly. This has all been a blessing. And for somebody to get rocks thrown at him, for putting all this together, bringing me, Kai, his vision, the dream that he had coming back to the game is like I said, bulls--t.
"So I think we all should support him, support what we got going on. Because in this next World Cup, whatever we got, we all gotta have each other's back and support each other going through this. So that's all I gotta say about that.
"You know, I'm here with my coach. I know everybody in that locker room is. From the top, MVP, everybody. I know people didn't appreciate that at all. Moving forward I think we need to change our actions and show love and nothing but peace here."
Reyes, as always, brushed the hate aside.
"Me coming back here has absolutely no individual consideration," said the Gilas coach. There's no me in this whole thing for me. The only reason I'm doing this is for the country.
"This is just my service for flag and country. And like I told the players in the locker room, the relationship, the bond that we built, I'm willing to take all of that s--t.
"I'm sure you know how many hater I have. I'm sure that there are also supporters, maybe not as vocal, maybe not as noisy. But as long as I can inspire one or two individuals, then it's all worth it. I'd much rather get booed by the crowd than the players get booed."
Clarkson is coming back, Kai impresses
Clarkson will not be able to play in the succeeding FIBA windows due to his NBA commitments, but he made it clear that he is available for the World Cup itself a year from now.
"It was great," he said of the home court experience. "I think I felt all the energy in the crowd. I think we all did as a team. It's different playing at home in front of your home people.
"This arena is beautiful. I can't wait to come back here and play some more games, have everybody behind us and get some wins."
Even the visitors benefited from playing against him, according to Youssef.
"Jordan Clarkson is one of the best players in the world, an NBA Sixth Man of the Year," said the Saudi Arabia coach. "He's very high quality. And I think it's a very good experience for our roster and our young players to play against such a great player.
"We tried to contain him as much as we can. But as you know, he's a great player so he always finds a solution. A good night for him, 23 points."
Sotto had a solid double-double as Saudi Arabia didn't have anyone tall enough to consistently bother him. But it was also clear he needs to bulk up and grow stronger as he was easily pushed to the floor at times.
Clarkson is high on Sotto's potential and wants to see him continue improving, praising: "I think he has a bright future. He's young, he's just learning.
"Get in the weight room, get stronger. Put some time in. He's very skilled. Can catch the ball, he can space the floor. He can put the ball on the ground, make plays. He can shoot it as well.
"Sky's the limit for him. He just gotta keep continuing to put the work in. Keep making strides in his career. I think he's 20 years old. I didn't make it into the league till I was 21, 22 years old.
"When I first saw him coming out of high school and seeing him now, he's definitely taken steps in the right direction."
Reyes, meanwhile, said that the two players have been at the top of his wish list for years now.
"When they awarded the hosting rights to us in 2017, (former Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas) chairman MVP (Manuel V. Pangilinan) said, 'Chot, you better put together already a list of players potentially that you can see for 2023," Reyes recounted.
"At the top of my list was Jordan and then after that Kai Sotto. So for us to have those two guys here, that's really huge. That was five years ago."
That other thing the crowd did
This has actually been a staple whenever Gilas has a home game. The crowd does its best to confuse the opposing team's players by counting down the shot clock three or four seconds early, forcing them to take hurried shots as soon as they hear "Five, four, three, two, one!"
At first, the Saudi Arabia players looked confused, but they eventually tried their best not to fall victim. Youssef was appreciative of the home crowd's efforts and believed it will ultimately help his players toughen up.
"The fans are trying to put pressure on the players with any miscommunication, he said.
They're trying to count the shot clock early. But this is a good experience for us. You know, the Saudi Arabia league, there's not a lot of fans. When they come here to play against great fans and a full house, it's a good experience for them.
"It's natural for them (fans) to do this. They are supporting the national team. No problem for us."