Jet-lagged Clarkson buckles down to work right away

Jordan Clarkson: No rest.—PHOTO COURTESY OF JALIN MORGAN

Jordan Clarkson and the rest of the Gilas Pilipinas talent pool met for the first time on Saturday afternoon, kicking into high gear the Nationals’ preparations for two crucial Fiba World Cup Asian Qualifying window games scheduled next week.

Clarkson wore a blue practice jersey and black sweatpants that went with a pair of white socks and sneakers, getting right to work at Meralco Gym in Pasig City even after a long trip from Los Angeles that was capped with partying on Friday night.

The Nationals are scheduled to play Lebanon at Nouhad Naufal Sports Complex on Aug. 25, hoping to avenge a 95-80 loss in Jakarta in July. On paper, a Gilas payback is looking more probable this time with Clarkson, a 6-foot-6 guard who has blossomed into an NBA star and who will be bridging the talent gap with the Cedars, runners-up of the recent Asia Cup.

The 30-year-old Utah Jazz star, who is joined here by friend Jalin Morgan who is chronicling his Gilas stint, averaged 26.0 points, 6.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists that went with a steal during the 2018 Asian Games, his last stint for the National Five.

Lebanon has since proven itself to be a tough bunch with eventual continental meet MVP Wael Arakji leading the charge. But the hosts are shaping up to be an even more ferocious unit with a six-game winning streak at home and Ali Haidar, the revelation in the finalé against Australia, looking a cinch for the Cedars’ final roster.

Cone on defense

This is why perhaps Gilas is trying to iron out kinks on its defense, with no less than the PBA’s winningest coach, Tim Cone, handling that side of things.

“That’s his main responsibility, the defensive end of things. He is involved in everything, but if you’re to frame an area of focus [for him], it’s defense, really,” national coach Chot Reyes said on Friday.

Even more logical now that Gilas tightens its defensive schemes with the reported withdrawal of Japeth Aguilar and Ian Sangalang, two tested big men that looked logical pieces around Clarkson, a versatile guard who can create his own shots.

Aguilar, according to his wife, is under isolation for again contracting the coronavirus. Sangalang, meanwhile, has opted to rest his body after a tough and physical semifinal series against Reyes’ TNT in the PBA Philippine Cup.

That leaves Gilas with 7-foot-3 big man Kai Sotto and World Cup veteran Raymond Almazan as the last remaining viable candidates for the center position that will battle alongside Clarkson as June Mar Fajardo is also out because of San Miguel Beer making the Philippine Cup Finals.

Gilas leaves for Beirut on Monday.

The Nationals will then play Saudi Arabia here on Aug. 29, giving this cage-crazed nation a fitting treat—Clarkson as Gilas’ cutting edge—after a spate of debacles on the international stage.