Gilas Pilipinas vs. China Blue: Score and Reaction from 2015 William Jones Cup

Even without former NBA player Andray Blatche on the roster, Gilas Pilipinas opened the William Jones Cup with a 77-69 win over Chinese Taipei Blue. 

Terrence Romeo led the way for Gilas Pilipinas, scoring 18 points and adding four steals, while Jayson William added 16 points, four rebounds, four assists and four steals, and Calvin Abueva contributed 15 points and five rebounds. Quincy Davis led the way for Chinese Taipei Blue, scoring 13 points and adding 12 rebounds.

Gilas Pilipinas roared to a 47-31 first-half lead and looked set to dismiss Chinese Taipei Blue without much issue, but the Chinese team roared back in the third quarter, outscoring Pilipinas 23-7 to go into the fourth trailing by just two points. Pilipinas managed to regain the momentum in the fourth quarter, however, as Romeo, William and Abueva combined to score 19 of the team's 23 points in the quarter. 

Meanwhile, watching from the sidelines was the young star of the Los Angeles Lakers, Jordan Clarkson, per the team's Facebook page.

Tin Gamboa of The GOAT on Fox Sports Philippines was thrilled to see Clarkson supporting the team: 

Blatche couldn't be with the team, however, as he returned to the United States following the death of his uncle and to attend to his sick mother, per Richard Dy of Philstar.com. 

The win was a nice start to the tournament for Pilipinas, especially given the absence of their best player, though the squad's next contest will be the real test, per the Philippine Basketball Association broadcast team on Sports5:

Gilas Pilipinas will face South Korea on Monday.

For Chinese Taipei Blue, meanwhile, the loss put them at 1-1 for the tournament, with a matchup against the United States awaiting them on Monday. The United States opened their tournament on Saturday with a 91-76 victory over Japan.