Lebanon continued its mastery over Gilas Pilipinas, handing the Filipinos an 85-81 loss in the FIBA World Cup Qualifiers early Friday morning (Manila time).

Playing before a jampacked crowd at the Nouhad Naufal Sports Complex, the Lebanese squad took advantage of Gilas' unforced turnovers and rebounding problems despite the presence of NBA star, naturalized player Jordan Clarkson.

Wael Arakji remained as the biggest thorn in Gilas side, scoring the biggest shots down the stretch to give Lebanon the win.

The Filipinos were making a run for it in the final quarter, but Arakji came through, scoring 5 straight points including a corner 3 that stunned Gilas in the last 16.3 seconds.

Arakji finished the game with 24 points, while Amir Saoud made a killing from the perimeter for a total of 17 markers.

The Philippines was leading 17-8 against Lebanon on Clarkson's lead early in the match, but turnovers hurt Gilas. The Filipinos ended up committing 21 turnovers.

Gilas tried to fight back in the payoff period and momentarily held the lead courtesy of Clarkson and Dwight Ramos. However, Arakji took over for the Lebanese side.

Clarkson finished with 27 markers while Ramos ended up with 18.

The Philippines was looking to avenge a 95-80 loss to Lebanon last July.

Lebanon beat the Philippines in the group stage of the FIBA Asia Cup and went on to reach the final, where it lost a narrow decision to defending champion Australia.