Jordan Clarkson gets first Gilas glimpse

MANILA, Philippines –  As Jordan Clarkson watched from the sidelines, the Filipino-American NBA player got a glimpse of the Philippine basketball team’s brand of play. 

And the Gilas stalwarts hope to have given him a good impression, in the  same way national coach Yeng Guiao came out impressed after his wards demolished Kazakhstan, 96-59, in the 2018 Asian Games on Thursday, August 16 at the GBK Basketball Hall in Jakarta, Indonesia. (READ: Clarkson-less Gilas crushes Kazakhstan in Asian Games)

“We were able to disrupt their (Kazakhs’) offense. We were able to challenge their shots” said Guiao. “Our anticipation was good and that’s because of the scouting that we did and the implementation and the execution of our game plan.” 

Clarkson, who planed in straight from the US after getting cleared by the NBA, will join the Nationals against China on Tuesday, August 21. (LOOK: NBA grants Jordan Clarkson ‘one-time exception’)

Guiao sees no problem fitting the Cleveland Cavaliers guard into the system in just a few days.

“Kung kasing galing naman ni Clarkson makakasama mo, siguro that’s a good problem blending him in,” said Guiao.  

(If you’re playing with someone as good as Clarkson, I think that’s a good problem blending him in.) 

Stanley Pringle scored a team-high 18 points on a 6-of-9 shooting to go with 4 rebounds and 2 assists as the Filipinos went to work early with crisp ball movement on the halfcourt set and an effective transition game fueled by speedsters Maverick Ahanmisi and Chris Tiu.

The result was a 41-20 advantage at the half and the Kazakhs never recovered.

Pringle – who earned praise from coaches Tab Baldwin and Tim Cone prior to his tour of duty with the national team – was ably backed by James Yap, whose all-around effort of 12 points, 5 boards, a steal and a block looked like a performance when he was 10 years younger.

San Miguel Beer rookie Christian Standhardinger was a force down low with 15 points, 4 boards and a steal.

But what stood out in the eyes of Guiao was his team’s defense, which resulted to the Kazakhs struggling on the floor.

The Kazakhs proved barely a threat to the Filipinos as they shot only 13 of their 32 two-point attempts (41%) and bricked most of their treys, sinking only five of 28 attempts (18%).

In contrast, the Filipinos waxed hot from two-point range (23 of 39 for 59%), but hit 12 triples on a 31% clip, a weapon they must improve on to stand a chance against the tall and fast Chinese, who will also be backstopped by NBA players Zhou Qi of the Houston Rockets and Ding Yanyuhang of the Dallas Mavericks. – Rappler.com