By REYNALD MAGALLON
The reinforcements for Gilas Pilipinas are all accounted for and ready to lift the spirit of Filipino fans following a spate of defeats suffered by the national team – the most painful one was its debacle in the Vietnam SEA Games last May.
Jordan Clarkson, the Fil-Am who plays for the Utah Jazz in the NBA, arrived Friday night, August 19, just a day after Kai Sotto landed in the country.
Clarkson is set to join the Gilas in the fourth window of the FIBA World Cup 2023 Asian Qualifiers.
The former NBA Sixth Man of the Year winner is likely to provide the needed firepower – not to mention stability – when Gilas goes up against Lebanon on Aug. 25 in Beirut and Saudi Arabia at the Mall of Asia Arena on Aug. 29.
Gilas is also to redeem itself from embarrassment of losing to Indonesia in the SEA Game finals.
The 7-foot-3 Sotto was scheduled to show up in the team’s closed door training Friday while the Clarkson, who dazzled a couple of 40-point performances in winning the award during 2020-21 season, is likely to join the training on Sunday.
This marks the second time Clarkson will be playing for the Philippines since being part of the Rain or Shine-backed PH team that saw action in the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia.
While Clarkson is a shoo-in, others vying for Gilas spots are PBA players Scottie Thompson, Arvin Tolentino, Roosevelt Adams, Raymond Almazan, Chris Newsome, Allein Maliksi, Japeth Aguilar, Robert Bolick, Calvin Oftana, Jamie Malonzo, Kevin Alas, Carl Tamayo, Francis Lopez and Kevin Quiambao.
San Miguel Beer’s June Mar Fajardo and CJ Perez are also included in the Gilas pool but they are going to play in the PH Cup finals against TNT starting Sunday, Aug. 21. (With a report from Nikole Javier)
