PH 5’s litmus test

JAKARTA—Jordan Clarkson will treat the Philippines-China tussle like he would any other game, but for the Filipinos, the anticipation is numbing.

Clarkson finally gets his baptism of fire in international play at 5 p.m. on Tuesday (PH time) in the 18th Asian Games, and the way he will lead—and ultimately, carry the team—will more or less dictate the result of how far the Filipinos will go in the medal chase.

Finally shaking off jet lag and practicing with his new teammates, Clarkson takes the GBK Basketball Hall floor as the focal point of the Nationals when they try to bring down the “Great Wall.”

“Our main concern is their size,” coach Yeng Guiao told the Inquirer. “If we can control their size, then we have a big chance. If we can’t do that, sa kangkungan tayo pupulutin (we’ll end up in the dumps).”

But Clarkson won’t be a do-it-all guy for Team PH.

“What we want him to do is make the team better,” Guiao said. “He has able teammates who can support him. Paul Lee is playing exceptionally well, and you all saw what Stanley (Pringle) could do. With his intelligence [on the floor], JC can get everyone involved. And that’s what we’re looking for.”

Pringle scored 18 points on 6-for-9 shooting in a 96-59 victory over Kazakhstan on Thursday and together with Lee, Guiao believes Gilas has a formidable backcourt rotation that can cut down the hulking Chinese, who will be led by
7-foot-1 Zhou Qi, a backup center for the Houston Rockets.

Meanwhile, Guiao was appointed to coach the PH 5 for the next two games of the Fiba World Cup 2019 Asian Qualifiers next month. But Guiao told the Inquirer his focus is on China at the moment.