Jordan Clarkson confirmed to attend FIBA World Cup with the Philippines team: Waiting for Kai Sotto news
Jordan Clarkson will be at the concentration camp of the Philippines team on August 6 after reaching a final agreement with the leadership of the country's national team.
Head coach Chot Reyes told ESPN in an exclusive interview: "This is really very good news for us. From the very beginning, Jordan has been a part of this team.”
However, the 31-year-old player will not be able to participate in the Philippine team's tour of China from August 2-6 due to some personal procedures. However, he will be able to catch up with his teammates ahead of the tournament in the framework of friendly matches in Manila.
Although he is of Filipino blood, Jordan Clarkson is only eligible to become a naturalized player for the country's national team. The Utah Jazz defender is ineligible for FIBA because he obtained a Philippine passport after the age of 16.
Accordingly, the co-host of the 2023 FIBA World Cup finals can only register to play for Clarkson in the form of naturalization.
The NBA Sixth Man of the Year winner made his debut for Gilas Pilipinas at the 2018 Asian Games, helping them finish in fifth place. He is one of the top international NBA stars that will represent his countries at the 2023 FIBA World Cup.
Besides the appearance of Jordan Clarkson, Filipino fans are also waiting for the presence of another promising name - Kai Sotto. The 2m20 striker is still recovering from a back injury he suffered in the 2023 NBA Summer League.
Despite this, Kai Sotto was still seen at a team practice session on July 25. The absence of this young striker will be a great loss for Gilas Pilipinas.
Kai Sotto is considered a rare prodigy of Philippine basketball thanks to his huge height of 2m20 and an impressive skill set.
At the age of 15, he took the MVP title after leading his team to the UAAP championship with an average of 17 points - 13 rebounds - 6.3 blocks per game. Next season Sotto continued to be the MVP with an average of 25.1 points - 13.9 rebounds - 2.6 blocks per game.
