Jordan Clarkson tells Gilas Pilipinas ‘see you in China’, but will Fiba allow him to play alongside Andray Blatche?
- The Cleveland Cavaliers star posts an Instagram message congratulating his national teammates after they qualified for the World Cup
- Clarkson and Gilas star player Blatche are both considered ‘naturalised’ and Fiba will allow only one of them on the squad
Cleveland Cavaliers star Jordan Clarkson is keen to represent the Philippines at the 2019 Fiba World Cup but his presence in China depends on whether the world governing body will ease its strict eligibility rules.
The 26-year-old Clarkson posted an Instagram message congratulating his Gilas Pilipinas teammates on qualifying for the August 31 to September 15 tournament, finishing off his short note with “hope to see you guys in China!”.
He wrote: “congrats to my bros and the country such a honor for the country, qualifying for the world cup, so hyped!!! hope to see you guys in china!!!”
However, the Philippines could be faced with a selection problem if Fiba insists on sticking to its rule that each squad can include no more than one naturalised player. Clarkson, who was born in Tampa, Florida and has a Filipino mother, is considered naturalised because he obtained his Filipino passport after the age of 16, according to officials.
It means Clarkson would be competing for the sole spot on the team for a naturalised import with former NBA player Andray Blatche, who was the star of the Gilas team in their 93-75 away victory over Kazakhstan on Sunday that clinched qualification for the World Cup.
Blatche, a 6-foot-11 (2.11m) power forward who played for the Washington Wizards and Brooklyn Nets, proved to be an important cog in the Philippines attack by scoring 41 points against the Kazakhs.