MANILA, Philippines — Gilas Pilipinas is bracing for war in the final window of the FIBA World Cup especially as Kazakhstan strengthened its lineup with its enlistment of new naturalized player Anthony Clemmons. Jayson Castro, Mark Barroca and Paul Lee are tasked to hold their own against Clemmons, a 6-foot-2 guard presented a Kazakh passport just last December. With their old lineup, the Steppe Wolves relied on a wondrous outside shooting to stun Gilas, 92-88, in their previous tiff at the MOA Arena in Nov. 30. Gilas Pilipinas will also be away from home versus Qatar on Feb. 21 in Doha, then Kazakhstan on Feb. 24 in Astana. Zhigulin sizzled with six three-pointers and a total of 31 points while Bykov put in 24 markers and nine boards in leading the Steppe Wolves over Gilas in their initial faceoff.

Source: Philippine Star February 11, 2019 16:00 UTC