Clarkson catches fire as Philippines defends turf vs China

MANILA, Philippines – “Superhuman effort” it was. 

Jordan Clarkson played like a man possessed in the second half as he towed Gilas Pilipinas to its first win in the FIBA World Cup at the expense of Asian rivals China, 96-75, Saturday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

With Gilas trailing by 39-44 in the third, Clarkson heated up as he turned the tables on China, knocking down a series of 3-pointers to help erect a 73-50 lead for the Philippines.

The Utah Jazz guard went nuts as he sank one 3-pointer after another, much to the delight of the 11,080 fans inside the Big Dome.

The stretch saw him making five straight treys, before missing an off balance trey with eight seconds remaining in the third quarter. 

Clarkson scored 24 points in the quarter alone, his total a game-high 34 markers. 

Gilas then rode the huge momentum into the fourth quarter, leading by much as 25 points — their biggest in the tournament. 

Rhenz Abando followed Clarkson in scoring for Gilas Pilipinas with 14 points. 

NBA player Kyle Anderson spearheaded China with 17 points. 

Gilas forward Jamie Malonzo did not suit up in the game after he went down hard in their game against South Sudan on Thursday. 

With Saturday night's win, Gilas salvaged a measure of pride on what has been a dismal World Cup performance.

After going 0-4 against the Dominican Republic, Angola, Italy and South Sudan, the victory over China is a sweet conclusion to an overall disappointing stint. 

Gilas avoided being the first host team since Colombia in 1982 to finish the World Cup without a win.

Assistant coach Tim Cone earlier vowed that the team "will go out and give one more superhuman effort" to nail the elusive win.

Cone and the rest of Gilas were true to their word.