MANILA – Wael Arakji broke the hearts of the Gilas Pilipinas fans with his endgame hits to lead Lebanon to an 85-81 escape in the fourth window of the 2023 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers on Thursday night (Friday in the Philippines) at the Nouhad Nawfal Sports Complex in Zouk Mikael.
With the score tied at 78-all, Arakji drew a foul from the Philippines’ Earl Scottie Thompson for two free throws to give Lebanon an 80-78 edge with 57.3 seconds left.
Following a missed triple by Gilas’ Japeth Aguilar, Arakji secured the victory for Lebanese with a booming triple with 16.3 seconds left before he added two more freebies for the final score.
Arakji, the Most Valuable Player in the 2022 FIBA Asia Cup, ended the match with 24 points, on 10-of-11 shooting from the free throw line, as the Lebanese improved to 4-1 in the qualifier.
Amir Saoud contributed 17 points on 3-of-9 clip from three-point area while Ali Haidar ended with 10 points, nine rebounds, and four assists for Lebanon.
Lebanon’s close home win spoiled the huge game of Filipino-American guard Jordan Clarkson, who tallied 27 points, seven assists, and six rebounds for Gilas Pilipinas.
Dwight Ramos also had a solid game of 18 points, 10 boards, six steals, and two assists, Aguilar had 11 points and six rebounds and Kai Sotto had 10 points, eight rebounds, and two blocks.
Gilas Pilipinas actually held a 75-71 lead after Kiefer Ravena’s split from the line with 5:49 but the Lebanese answered back to tie the score at 78-all before Arakji took over the game.
“Unfortunately, we had too many turnovers – 21 turnovers really was the big difference in this ballgame and that’s just a result of us not yet as familiar with each other as we’d like to be,” said Gilas head coach Vincent “Chot” Reyes.
With the defeat, Gilas Pilipinas dropped it to a 2-3 card in Group E and it will look to vent its ire on Saudi Arabia on Monday night at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
BOX SCORE:
LEBANON 85 – Arakji 24, Saoud 17, Haidar 10, Gyokchan 9, Zeinoun 7, Arledge 6, Chamoun 3, Mansour 3, Ezzedine 3, Mezher 3.
PHILIPPINES 81 – Clarkson 27, Ramos 18, Aguilar 11, Sotto 10, Thompson 4, Newsome 3, K. Ravena 3, Malonzo 3, T. Ravena 2, Tamayo 0, Parks 0, Oftana 0.
Quarterscores: 22-25, 49-47, 68-63, 85-81./PN
