Karl-Anthony Towns Stars for DR in World Cup Win vs. Jordan Clarkson, Gilas Pilipinas

Karl-Anthony Towns scored a team-high 26 points and Victor Liz added 18 off the bench to lead the Dominican Republic to an 87-81 win over the Philippines during Friday's FIBA World Cup opener.

Towns did most of his damage at the free-throw line, overwhelming the smaller defenders inside. He hit 15 of his 16 free throws, which made up for an otherwise forgettable 5-of-16 performance from the field.

Jordan Clarkson scored a game-high 28 points for the Philippines in a losing effort, fouling out as the Dominican Republic pulled away down the stretch. Clarkson dominated the ball throughout the contest for Gilas Pilipinas, taking 24 of his team's 56 shot attempts. No other player took more than eight shot attempts.

June Mar Fajardo finished second behind Clarkson with 16 points on an efficient 5-of-5 from the field and 6-of-8 from the free-throw line.

The Dominican Republic now stands a strong chance of making its way into the second round.

Taking care of Angola, the lowest-ranked team in Group A, will be paramount to the effort but the Philippines were the Domincans' biggest challenge in getting that second spot with Italy assumed to be the group winner.