JAKARTA—Yeng Guiao was all smiles even after the Philippines was dealt a gutting 82-80 loss to China in Group D of the 2018 Asian Games basketball competition on Tuesday at Basket Hall in the Gelora Bung Karno complex.

For the coach, the slim defeat might as well have been a victory for the Philippines, considering the circumstances surrounding the team’s participation in the Asiad and the caliber of their opponent.

“I consider this a win,” Guiao said. “This is a win for us.”

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Trailing by as many as 12 points, the Philippines crawled its way back into the contest behind debuting Jordan Clarkson. The Cleveland Cavaliers guard caught fire in the third quarter, drilling triple after triple to the delight of the Philippine fans that packed the venue.

Clarkson cramped up in the fourth quarter, but his teammates gamely stepped up with Christian Standhardinger and Paul Lee, in particular, converting the crucial shots. Stanley Pringle then took over late, giving the Philippines an 80-77 lead.

Unfortunately, he would also commit the turnover that allowed China’s Zhao Rui to tie the game, and Clarkson’s fourth foul of the contest gave the Chinese guard the game-winning free throws. A potential go-ahead shot by Lee misfired.

Yet Guiao was exuberant in his praise of the squad, who had already secured its passage to the quarterfinals with a victory over Kazakhstan in their first game.

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“I can't ask for anything more than the effort that they put out tonight. It was a gallant stand,” said Guiao.

“Jordan Clarkson just showed what kind of player he is. He is heads and shoulders above all the players here and he showed that. It's just a pity that he cramped in the last two minutes.”

Yet even without Clarkson, the Philippines still played well and had a shot at victory, said the coach.

“Even without him we had a chance to win the game with the last shot, but those are the breaks of the game. But the effort is really good, and I give credit to the boys. To me, this is like a won game,” he stressed.

Indeed, Guiao had no problems even with what happened in the final stretch, when the Philippines lost control of their slim lead.

"’Di tayo nagkulang. Di lang pumasok 'yung tira. Wala tayong pagkukulang, wala tayong pagkukulang sa game na 'to. I think we all should appreciate the effort of the boys,” said the coach.

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“I don’t see this as a loss,” Guiao added. “I don’t see this as a loss.”

“We formed this team just two weeks ago,” he pointed out. “Then we flew in Clarkson just four, five days ago. With that amount of preparation, this is a really good game.”

The Philippines faces South Korea in the quarterfinals on Monday.

(For more sports coverage, visit the ABS-CBN Sports website.)