Jordan Clarkson attends his first Gilas Pilipinas practice; Kai Sotto also joins
Jordan Clarkson during his first practice with Gilas Pilipinas ahead of the Fiba World Cup.
MANILA, Philippines — Jordan Clarkson attended his first Gilas Pilipinas practice on Wednesday evening at Philsports Arena in Pasig City ahead of the Fiba World Cup 2023 starting on August 25.
The NBA star, who arrived in Manila on Tuesday from Los Angeles, joined his teammates in a closed-door practice.
National team coach Chot Reyes posted a video of the naturalized guard joining the shooting drills on his Instagram story.
Kai Sotto was also seen attending the Gilas Pilipinas practice amid his back injury, which sidelined him from joining the team for the past training and the pocket tournament in China.
Gilas training continues at Philsports Arena with Jordan Clarkson joining for the first time. pic.twitter.com/IM5pM9BSYD
— SBP (@officialSBPinc) August 10, 2023
Gilas won three of its four matches in the Heyuan WUS International Basketball Tournament in Guandong, China
Also seen in practice from Reyes’ video were June Mar Fajardo, AJ Edu, Dwight Ramos, Kiefer and Thirdy Ravena, Jamie Malonzo, CJ Perez, Japeth Aguilar, Ray Parks Jr., Calvin Oftana, Chris Newsome, Calvin Oftan, and Rhenz Abando.
The Utah Jazz star played in the fourth window of the Fiba World Cup Asian Qualifiers, averaging 25.0 points, 6.5 assists, and 5.5 rebounds in two matches.
Clarkson and Gilas will start their World Cup campaign against the Dominican Republic on August 25 at Philippine Arena before battling Angola on the 27th and Italy on the 29th at Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
