Gilas Pilipinas fail to qualify to Paris Olympics after loss to South Sudan / News - Basketnews.com

Carlik Jones had another amazing performance which fueled South Sudan's win in the Classification Round against the Philippines. For Gilas Pilipinas the search for the first win remains without an answer

Credit: FIBA Credit FIBA

South Sudan prevailed in the Classification Round game against the Philippines, winning with the final score of 87-68 (34-17, 17-16, 9-17, 27-18)

Player of the Game EFF 28 Carlik Jones Points 17 Accuracy 7-20 Rebounds 9 Assists 14

Carlik Jones was the absolute hero of the night for South Sudan. The point guard finished the game with a near triple-double: 17 points, 14 assists, and 9 rebounds, just one rebound shy of a triple-double.

This was the second win for South Sudan in this FIBA World Cup. The African side built a big lead in the first half, thanks to a great shooting performance in the first quarter when the team coached by Royal Ivey scored 34 points.

South Sudan went to the locker for halftime with an 18-point lead. In the second half, though, the situation changed momentarily. The Gilas Pilipinas began to do a better job defensively, limiting South Sudan's athleticism and started to cut down the deficit.

After cutting down South Sudan's lead to just four points at the beginning of the fourth quarter, Gilas Pilipinas, though, began to look tired from the attempted comeback and South Sudan took advantage, with Carlik Jones and Majok Deng pushing back the Asian side.

Despite Jordan Clarkson's 24-point performance, the Gilas Pilipinas remain winless in this FIBA World Cup and their quest to get a spot in the 2024 Paris Olympics becomes even more difficult now.

Full game highlights:

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