When Gilas Pilipinas played Jordan on Friday in Amman, it was under pressure.

The Philippines struggled to defeat top-tier opponents in FIBA competition prior to the event, defeating mainly weaker nations like India and Saudi Arabia and failing to defeat opponents like Lebanon and New Zealand.

They have to kill a shark, not just swim around with the fish.

And it eventually came. Even against the typically ferocious Jordan crowd, they succeeded.

Going up against the higher-ranked Falcons, Gilas leaned on their defense in the 40-minute affair.

Despite playing against a bigger team, the Filipinos fought back and held Jordan to only 37 percent field goal shooting, including 3-of-25 from outside the arc. Additionally, they made the hosts commit 21 errors, which resulted in 12 points.

“They want the game more than us. They pressured full court, they pressured everyone,” was the single thing Jordan big man Ahmad Al Dwairi could say. Ten Jordan blunders were due to Al Dwairi.

Kai Sotto (16 points), Bobby Ray Parks Jr. (13 points), and CJ Perez all contributed baskets (11). Dwight Ramos and Roger Pogoy, meanwhile, gave Gilas the intangibles.

Of course, there was less dragging this time around as the passing of Gilas was fluent which led to 24 dimes.

And they simply had mutual trust in Sotto. 

“Everybody was happy that everybody was doing their role. It turned out to be a good game and we are happy we got the win,” said Sotto.

In Group E of the FIBA World Cup 2023 Asian Qualifiers, the Philippines defeated higher-ranked Jordan 74-66 on the road thanks in large part to the reigning Philippine Basketball Association Most Valuable Player, who did everything for Gilas on Friday (Manila time) at Prince Hamzah Hall in Amman.

Thompson, who has been the driving force behind Gilas throughout the contest, nearly recorded a triple-double by pulling down 12 rebounds, contributing eight points, and making eight assists. He also had a plus-ten rating, which was a game-high; this was the first time he did so while wearing a Pilipinas jersey.

In addition to putting up the numbers, Gilas’ defense shocked the hosts, especially in the third quarter.

Early in the third canto, with the score knotted at 43 all, Gilas went on a run, taking the lead by a score of 53-45.

Gilas focused during that period, restricting Jordan to 10 points on 4-of-17 field goal attempts.

With 4:18 remaining, Gilas’ lead increased to as much as 14 points, 71-57.

“Well, we knew it was going to be a tough game, we have very high respect for the Jordan basketball team. We have met them so many times in the past, even the coach. Obviously, we are very happy with the result,” said Chot Reyes, head coach of the Gilas.

“Before the game, we focused on defense and stopping their main players. The result is we were able to hold them to below 70 points. I think that speaks well of our ability to defend. Our defense carried us in the game,” he continued.

Gilas has improved to 4-3 in the pool while the Falcons have fallen to 5-4. Jordan had not lost at home since last year.

With 18 points and 16 rebounds for Lebanon, Ahmad Al Dwairi recorded a double-double, but he also had 10 turnovers. Dar Tucker contributed 23 markers.

Up next

On Monday, the Philippines plays Saudi Arabia to wrap up its Window 5 campaign.