Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.NET
Jordan Clarkson and Christian Standhardinger have little—or no—chance of representing the Philippines in the Asian Games because of one eligibility rule that they won’t be able to satisfy.
Clarkson, the NBA veteran, is half-Filipino, but Olympic Council of Asia rules specify that players seeing action in the Games must be residents of the country they represent continuously for the past three years.
That is what Article 53 of the OCA rule book says. The OCA, the body recognized by the International Olympic Committee in the continent, is the organizer of the Asian Games.
That provision also applies to the 6-foot-7 Standhardinger, a Filipino-German who arrived in the country just over two months ago.
Standhardinger, who is a PBA rookie with San Miguel Beer, has played for the country several times before as a naturalized player. The Asian Games, though, doesn’t allow naturalized players to play unless they have satisfied the residency rule like Marcus Douthit in 2014.
The Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas has submitted 18 players to the Philippine Olympic Committee, which forwarded the list to Inasgoc and is awaiting its verdict on Aug. 9.
Rain or Shine plus cadets
Besides Clarkson and Standhardinger, the core of the team will be made up mostly of Rain or Shine players and three Gilas cadets, including slam-dunk champion Kobe Paras.
Clarkson’s inclusion will add the star power Gilas direly needs after its lineup got depleted due to the suspensions slapped by the International Basketball Federation (Fiba) on 10 Filipino players and headcoach Chot Reyes after an ugly brawl with the Australian men’s basketball team during their World Cup qualifying match.
The Philippines is seeking to improve on its forgettable seventh-place finish in the previous edition of the Games in 2014 held in Incheon, South Korea.