GILAS Pilipinas went on a defensive mode in the second half to take the fight out of Jordan, 74-66, in the FIBA World Cup Asian qualifiers early Friday morning (Manila time) at the Hamza Hall in Amman.
Kai Sotto and Scottie Thompson stood at the forefront of the Filipinos' defensive ploy starting the third quarter in which the team held the host to just 10 points to take control of a game it trailed by 41-37 at the break.
The 7-foot-3 Australian-based cager led the way for Gilas with 16 points, seven rebounds, two assists, and two block shots as he proved to be a solid presence in the middle while holding his own against Jordan's 7-foot center Ahmad Al Dwairi.
In all, Gilas outscored Jordan in the third quarter, 21-10, holding the host to a woeful 4-of-17 shooting to take a 58-51 lead heading to the final quarter.
Thompson had an all-around game of eight points, 13 rebounds, and eight assists for Gilas, which improved to a 4-3 record in Group E following back-to-back wins in the qualifiers.
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"Obviously, we're happy with the result, and for the game, we really focused on our defense, being able to stop their main players," said coach Chot Reyes afterwards.
"We were able to hold them below 70 points, so I think that speaks well of our ability to defend."
Bobby Ray Parks complemented Sotto in scoring with 13 points, 11 of them coming in the first half when he kept Gilas afloat as Jordan rode on the hot shooting of naturalized player Dar Tucker and Al Dwairi.
CJ Perez added 11 points, five assists, and three rebounds for the Philippines, which faces Saudi Arabia next on Monday morning (Manila time) in Jeddah.
Tucker paced Jordan with 23 points, but only had nine in the second half as Dwight Ramos sacrificed his offense by slowing him down with help from Jamie Malonzo. Ramos shot 2-of-11 from the floor and finished with four points.
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Al Dwairi was also cuffed in the final two quarters and ended up with 18 points after scoring 10 in the first half, and 16 rebounds. He likewise was responsible for almost half of the 21 turnovers by the host team.
Jordan fell to a 3-4 record and will face Group E leader New Zealand on Monday. (RG)
The scores:
Philippines (74) - Sotto 16, Parks 13, Perez 11, Thompson 8, Pogoy 7, Ramos 5, Aguilar 5, Erram 4, Malonzo 3, Kouame 2, Oftana 0.
Jordan (66) - Tucker 23, Al Dwairi 18, Bzai 9, H. Abbas 7, Ibrahim 6, Alhendi 3, Alhamarsheh 0, Z. Abbas 0, Hussein 0, Kanaan 0, Alnajdawi 0.
Quarterscores: 21-20; 37-41; 58-51; 74-66.
