Jordan Clarkson ready to lead Gilas Pilipinas in FIBA World Cup, says Chot Reyes
Although former NBA Sixth Man of the Year Jordan Clarkson has yet to join Gilas Pilipinas in the squad’s preparation for the 2023 FIBA World Cup, head coach Chot Reyes revealed that the 31-year-old Fil-Am has assured him of his preparedness to lead the national team in the quadrennial basketball meet.
“Okay siya, he has accepted it. He knows what we want from him, and I think he’s up for the challenge,” said Reyes during an interview with Noli Eala in his Power & Play program.
“Number one, nag uusap kami, we’ve been in constant communication. We’re talking about our offense, our concepts, our plans, and what his role is going to be,” he added.
“He has assured me that he’s in pretty good shape, he’s been working out, he’s working on his skills, so I think the number one thing that I can expect is that he’s in basketball shape.”
Clarkson, the Utah Jazz’s star guard, was scheduled to join the team in China on August 6, but visa complications forced him to delay his arrival until August 8.
“He was supposed to come here [in China] to join us. Except may problema siya sa visa, so dederetso na lang siya, magkikita-kita na lang kami sa Manila on August 8,” said Reyes.
“Jordan will meet us there in Manila, and then tuloy-tuloy na kaming magpa-practice na kami from the 9th moving forward.”
Despite the lack of time to jell with his teammates, Reyes believes that Clarkson won’t have major issues at all in integrating himself into the system.
“The issue na lang namin is the integration, just getting to know and magkaamuyan,” said the 9-time PBA champion mentor. “The good thing is he’s not coming in cold. He’s been with us before. Obviously, he still has to familiarize himself with some players na ngayon lang niya makaka laro, but like I said, he is a world-class NBA player, so hopefully those concerns can be laid to rest.”
Gilas has games set against Montenegro on August 20 and Mexico on August 21, so Clarkson will still have a chance to play tune-up games with the team after the pocket tournament in China.
