MANILA (UPDATED) -- South Sudan rode a strong first quarter to frustrate Gilas Pilipinas and claim an 87-68 victory in their faceoff in the classification round of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023, Thursday at the Araneta Coliseum.

The defeat -- Gilas' fourth straight in the World Cup -- meant that they are out of the running for the outright Olympic spot that will go to the highest-ranked Asian team in the tournament.

South Sudan took the Filipinos by surprise with their superior speed and built a quick 16-3 advantage early in the first quarter. AJ Edu instigated a run for the nationals and cut the deficit 24-15, but the Sudanese took a 34-17 lead going to the second canto.

The nationals found its footing in the second period with Dwight Ramos and Jamie Malonzo taking over the scoring duties. But Malonzo suffered a bad fall and Majok Deng pressed the action to widen the gap for South Sudan, 51-33.

Ramos came out blazing at the onset of the third, knocking down two treys and a jumper for eight straight points to pull the nationals to within 51-41. Gilas also managed to disrupt the Sudanese's offense although the latter stayed 10 points ahead.

Gilas started the payoff period with a 6-0 run capped by Kai Sotto's slam that cut the deficit 60-56. Clarkson and Ramos scored more baskets, but the Sudanese turned to Carlik Jones to stay ahead 69-61 midway through the period.

Nuni Omot then drained his shots from the three-point area to fend off Gilas.

Jones scored 17 points while grabbing nine rebounds and dishing out 14 assists for South Sudan. Nuni Omot and Majok Deng each scored 13, while Marial Shayok added 12.

Clarkson fired four treys for Gilas to finish with 24 markers, while Ramos added 20. Edu and Kai Sotto registered 12 and eight for the nationals, respectively.

Gilas suffered a bad shooting night at the worst time possible, settling for 35 percent shooting from the field while South Sudan shot 40 percent.

The Philippines will conclude their World Cup campaign against China on Saturday, hoping for a win that will boost their chances of claiming a place in an Olympic qualifying tournament next year.

For more stories on the FIBA World Cup, click here.

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