Jordan Clarkson during his arrival at Naia on Friday. He joins Gilas Pilipinas for the team’s fourth window campaign. –DENISON DALUPANG/INQUIRER SPORTS
Jordan Clarkson planed in from Los Angeles on Friday night and answered questions in the stingiest way possible, understandable considering how tiring his flight was.
But the way he talked suggests that he is not about to dilly-dally getting his feet wet and be the tip of the sword for Gilas Pilipinas.
“Uhh, ready,” Clarkson told reporters who asked how he feels representing the land of his mother’s birth in the fourth window of the Fiba Asia World Cup Qualifying matches starting next week. “Just win. Let’s get it. [I am] excited.”
National coach Chot Reyes also said that the cage program has finally heaved a sigh of relief as its talent pool can now begin training as a complete bunch this weekend.
Jet-lagged and all, the Utah Jazz star in the NBA will be joining the pool on Saturday at Meralco gym in Pasig.
“There’s a feeling of relief, more than anything, because at least we’ll now be able to get a feel of the whole team,” he said earlier on Friday during the PBA Philippine Cup Finals kickoff presser after it was confirmed that Philippine Airlines flight 113 carrying Clarkson was set to arrive earlier than scheduled.
Gilas will now have five full days of preparation before it departs for Lebanon, where the Filipinos will be led by Clarkson as they try to avenge a 95-80 loss last month. That game takes place in Beirut on Aug, 25.
Four days later, Clarkson will be on full display for this cage-crazed nation to see as the Filipinos tangle with Saudi Arabia at Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.
“[It has been] very difficult because we haven’t had a complete practice yet,” said Reyes. “We got eight, nine guys coming in. We haven’t had anywhere close to a complete practice yet. But if I shared that, people would say that I’m making up excuses. That’s also why I’ve chosen not to speak [about it].”
Naturalized player
This will be Clarkson’s second tour of duty for the Philippines after playing in the Asian Games in Jakarta in 2018. But this time it will be different, as he suits up as a naturalized player that had Reyes scrambling to sign all the big men available.
Gilas took the lid off its camp on Monday, but still waited for a number of PBA stars coming off their respective playoff campaigns and varsity stars neck-deep in their buildup for the new collegiate season.
“It has been very difficult, to say the least. But we don’t let the public know because we’re wary of what people might say again. But at least now, you know that we haven’t been able to be together. We haven’t had a full practice yet.”
Kai Sotto, the 7-foot-3 big man playing in Australia, began training with the locals on Friday night.
The Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas has since said that the cage leaders are using these Fiba games as an “evaluation period” to identify and test players that will play alongside Clarkson when the Philippines cohosts the World Cup next year. But Reyes assured that Gilas, which holds a 2-2 record in the Qualifiers, intends to win the games against the Cedars and the Saudis.
Missing TNT games
“This is big. It’s so big that I’m missing two of [TNT’s] Finals games. I think that says a lot with how big [this] is,” he said. His PBA club is the defending champion of the league’s centerpiece tournament.
Reyes is set to miss Games 2 and 3 of the Tropang Giga’s championship duel with San Miguel Beer. He is expected to coach in the series opener this Sunday, a day before Gilas leaves for Beirut.
Reyes and Clarkson have yet to meet face to face, but the Filipino-American guard summed up how he feels coming over in two words: “Awesome, awesome.”