Finally, Clarkson to be unleashed as Team Philippines clashes with China

JAKARTA – The long, agonizing wait is over.

Jordan Clarkson, eager to play for the Philippines from his Los Angeles Lakers days, finally struts his stuffs in the country’s blue and white uniform as the Philippines quintet clashes with China in a critical match in the 18th Asian Games men’s basketball competition at the GBK Basketball Hall here Tuesday.

Six Rain or Shine core players plus one reinforcement each from San Miguel Beer, NLEX, NorthPort, Blackwater and Magnolia complete a potent mix with Clarkson as the Nationals slug it out with the Chinese at 4 p.m. (5 p.m. in Manila) in a fight for good position in the knockout round.

Even still sans Clarkson, the Nationals showed their potential for a possible medal finish in a dominant wire-to-wire 96-59 mauling of Kazakhstan on Thursday.

Then Team Philippines has drawn so much attention since the arrival of Clarkson, a certified NBA player with a multi-million-dollar contract the Cleveland Cavaliers absorbed from the LA Lakers.

Filipino sportswriters and the international media have been following him here. His constant statement is he’s here to play and hopefully help Team Philippines win a medal.

“It’s time to fight on the court and go get wins,” said Clarkson in a well-attended press conference at Ritz Carlton Sunday night where he shared the presidential table with Foreign Affairs Secretary Allan Peter Cayetano, POC president Ricky Vargas and PSC chairman Butch Ramirez.

Despite the tough process of eventually getting Clarkson here, he came in time for the big game against the Chinese.

The winner gets an easy matchup while the loser is to face tough titleholder South Korea in the quarterfinals.

National coach Yeng Guiao said Team Phl has become a whole lot better on the addition of Clarkson, giving them much excitement they can achieve something special in the Jakarta meet.

But, first, they have to hurdle the Chinese with their elite team led by two NBA players in Zhou Qi of the Houston Rockets and Ding Yanyuhang of the Dallas Mavericks.

“If we can solve their size, then we’ll have a good chance to beat them,” said Guiao.

But China is really not unbeatable as seen in its up-and-down ride in international meets at least in the last decade.

In fact, the Philippines is 4-3 up versus China in their head-to-head matches since the 2007 FIBA Asia Championship in Tokushima where the Nationals swept a young Chinese squad in two games.

The Philippines also beat China, 80-79, right in its turf in Wuhan in their bronze-medal game in the 2014 FIBA Asia Stankovic Cup on three free throws by Paul Lee with three-tenths of a second left in the game.

Then there’s Gilas Pilipinas’ 96-87 conquest of the Chinese in the 2017 FIBA Asia Cup in Lebanon.

Terrence Romeo fired away 26 points, Christian Standhardinger came up with 15 points and six rebounds while Jayson Castro and Matthew Wright contributed 13 and 12 points, respectively, in that nine-point win where Calvin Abueva was tossed out on a flagrant infraction on Chinese enforcer Li Gen.

The Chinese last won against the Filipinos, 78-67, in their championship match in the FIBA Asia Championship in Changsha in 2015.