Montenegro turned on the heat in the second half as its defense worked double time on Gilas Pilipinas’ ace player Jordan Clarkson to preserve a 102-87 win in their tune up game on Sunday night at the Philsports Arena.
After watching the National Basketball Associaiton star torching the hoops for 18 first-half points, Montenegro focused more on stopping the star player from the Utah Jazz.
Clarkson ended with 27 points, but was never fielded back after playing only two minutes in the fourth period. He hit 8-of-15 shots from the field while dishing out five assists, but committing eight turnovers.
Gilas were able to battle Montenegro neck-to-neck in the first 20 minutes of play, but the visiting squad was able to outscore the Filipinos, 32-22, to turn a close encounter into a rout.
