MANILA, Philippines — They may be competitors on the court, but South Sudan’s Carlik Jones had no qualms showering praise on defender Rhenz Abando after their 87-68 win over Gilas Pilipinas Thursday night.
Despite his impressive stat line of 17 points, nine rebounds, and 14 assists, Jones acknowledged that it was a tough grind against the Korean Basketball League champion.
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Abando flexed on defense early, as he got defensive stops — and blocks — on the South Sudan offense.
“It’s ball pressure the whole game. Big shout out to him, man,” Jones, who is signed to the Chicago Bulls in the NBA, said of Abando.
“I think he played well, he defended well. I try to put him in as much ball screens as I could to relieve some of that pressure and to get other guys open. I think he played well.”
Abando struggled in shooting as he went scoreless as a starter, but contributed in other areas like defense, as shown by his three blocks. He also had three boards.
But despite Abando’s efforts, South Sudan was able to cruise to the win — even when Gilas Pilipinas threatened a comeback early in the fourth quarter.
According to Jones, it was all about believing in themselves in grinding out the tough win.
“We just kept telling each other, 'stick together.' The game is a game of runs.” he said.
“We were up 20, on the Philippines' turf. It's no way that we expect them to lay down, especially with a crowd like that that was loud and supportive the whole game. Our thing was just to stick together and gut out that win,” he added.
Now in a good position to compete for a spot in the 2024 Paris Olympics with two wins under their belt, South Sudan hopes to push their case even more when they face Angola on Saturday in their final game of the World Cup.