Jordan Clarkson Drops 28 in Gilas Pilipinas' Loss vs. China at 2018 Asian Games

Despite 28 points from Cleveland Cavaliers guard Jordan Clarkson, the Philippines fell 82-80 to China on Tuesday in a 2018 Asian Games preliminary-round game at GBK Basketball Hall in Jakarta, Indonesia. 

With the score tied 80-80 and just 13 seconds remaining on the clock, China's Zhao Rui was fouled by Clarkson before knocking down two free throws to put China on top for good.

Paul John Dalistan had a look from long range with just seconds remaining to give Gilas Pilipinas the win, but his shot was off the mark, and China escaped with a victory.

Clarkson led all scorers in his Philippines debut, and ABS-CBN sportscaster TJ Manotoc expressed his belief that Gilas earned some positive takeaways in the losing effort:

Like Clarkson, the NBA made an exception for Houston Rockets center Zhou Qi to play in the Asian Games, and that paid huge dividends for China.

Zhou led China with 25 points to go along with 12 rebounds and seven blocks, and the Philippines had no consistent answer for him defensively in the paint throughout Tuesday's contest.

That was evidenced by the fact Gilas committed 25 fouls to just 16 for China.

While China made just 59 percent of its free throws, it knocked down 23 freebies overall, as opposed to 11 for the Philippines.

Gilas entered halftime trailing by five, but there was a noticeable buzz surrounding the team thanks to Clarkson's arrival.

In addition to his scoring prowess, Clarkson managed to get his teammates involved, as seen in this video, courtesy of ESPN5:

Gilas chipped away at the Chinese lead, and a Stanley Pringle layup with 1:23 left in regulation gave it an 80-77 lead.

The Philippines would not score another point, though, as China came through in the clutch down the stretch.

Clarkson finished the game with eight rebounds and four assists to complement his 28 points, which makes Gilas Pilipinas one of the tournament's top contenders despite the loss.

The Philippines are already guaranteed a spot in the knockout round by virtue of their previous win over Kazakhstan.

With a victory over Kazakhstan on Thursday, China will win Group D and lock up a more favorable seed in the next round.