BOCAUE, Bulacan – Gilas Pilipinas held its ground but ultimately fell short in the end as the Dominican Republic put a huge spoiler to the party, coming away with an 87-81 victory before a record crowd at the Philippine Arena in the 2023 FIBA 2023 World Cup here on Friday, Aug. 25

With the record-shattering 38,115 people in attendance that included President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. cheering their hearts out, the Filipinos put up a gallant stand against world No. 23 Dominicans.

The Dominican Republic, however, was simply too poised down the stretch, drilling the big baskets before taking full advantage of Jordan Clarkson's absence in the waning minutes.

Towns, as expected, stood tall with a double-double of 26 points and 10 rebounds while Victor Liz and Andres Feliz added 18 and 12.

Clarkson remained to be Gilas' best scorer despite failing to finish the game with 28 points, seven rebounds and five assists, He, however, committed eight of the Filipinos’ 19 turnovers.

June Mar Fajardo added 16 points and seven rebounds while Dwight Ramos was the other double-digit scorer with 13.

The Filipinos, who engaged the Dominicans to a back-and-forth duel in three and a half quarters, were actually in the lead, 72-69, early in the final frame before the visiting team nailed back-to-back triples to reclaim the driver seat, 75-72.

Gilas would still hang tough from there behind the efforts of Fajardo but the Nationals' chances slowly slipped away from their hands when Clarkson was slapped for an offensive foul – his fifth and final foul– with 3:32 left in the contest.

Fajardo tried to carry the fight for Gilas but the Dominican Republic, smelling blood in the final minutes, went for the finishing blow.

Gilas tries to pick up its first win against Angola on Sunday, Aug. 27, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. The Angolans, just like Gilas, absorbed an 81-67 setback against the powerhouse Italy.

Over at the Mall of Asia Arena, Montenegro dominated Mexico, 91-71, behind Chicago Bulls center Nikola Vucevic who pumped in 27 points and 10 rebounds. The second game, meanwhile, saw Lithuania rout Egypt, 93-67, 

In Okinawa, Australia romped Finland, 92-78, while Germany ripped host Japan, 81-63. Latvia, on the other hand, cruised to a 109-70 victory over Lebanon in Jakarta, Indonesia.