Gilas Pilipinas’ Jordan Clarkson likely to lose out to Andray Blatche for Fiba World Cup if naturalisation rule is enforced
- Philippines trying to convince Fiba to allow Cleveland Cavaliers star to play
- Coach Yeng Guiao says Andray Blatche is pretty much a certainty for the China tournament
Gilas Pilipinas’ NBA star Jordan Clarkson may lose out on a World Cup place if the Philippines are denied the chance to field more than one naturalised player, coach Yeng Guiao has hinted.
Guiao, speaking at a Philippines Sportswriters Forum, said ex-NBA player Andray Blatche was likely to be given priority for the August 31-September 15 tournament in China because of his size advantage against European players.
Though in an ideal scenario Guiao would field both Filipino-Americans, his pledge to guarantee Blatche a place in the squad – and Fiba rules allowing only one naturalised player a team – means Cleveland Cavaliers’ Clarkson would be the player sacrificed.
“We all saw [in the Asian Qualifiers] that we need size,” Guiao was quoted as saying by Philippines media. “Andray has been with the Gilas programme for a while now, and based on the matchups I’m seeing, we will have a tough time against the European teams if we don’t have Andray.
“And he deserves to be on the team because he brought us there to the World Cup, so I believe his spot on the team is secured already.”
The Philippines will be based in Foshan for group D World Cup games against Angola, Italy and Serbia, with the top two after a round-robin progressing to the next round.
