Gilas Pilipinas beats Iran 76-65 in China opener

Gilas Pilipinas secured a 76-65 victory over Iran in its China tournament opener on Thursday.

Despite missing NBA star Jordan Clarkson and center Kai Sotto, Gilas relied on Jamie Malonzo, CJ Perez, AJ Edu, and Rhenz Abando to pull away from Iran.

CJ Perez scored all seven of his points late in the third quarter, helping Gilas build a 13-point lead heading into the final period.

Calvin Oftana extended the Filipino team's biggest lead to 22 points during the fourth quarter with a three-point play, securing their win.