After a series of back-and-forths, it looks like Cleveland Cavaliers guard Jordan Clarkson is finally cleared to suit up for team Philipines in Asian Games in Jakarta. Philippine Chef de Mission Richard Gomez confirmed that the Cavs guard will play in an article by CJ Marquez for CNN Philippines.
NBA gave the green light to Jordan Clarkson to play for the Asian Games. Indonesia Asian Games 2018 Organizing Committee (INASGOC) and Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) said yes for his reentry to the team. We need to fly out JC to get to Jakarta on Thursday in time for our game against Kazakhstan.
Clarkson’s addition to Gilas Pilipinas, the Philippines basketball team’s moniker, will be huge as they now have a legitimate NBA talent to lead them alongside some of the country’s best basketball players. There was confusion initially as the NBA released a statement that it was prohibiting Clarkson from playing in the Asian Games just a couple of days ago. Twitter and Instagram users began the hashtag #letjordanclarksonplay and it trended on social media platforms.
The Philippines will play Kazakhstan in their first game on August 16 before facing China on August 21. They need to secure a win to advance to the second round. Houston Rockets big man Zhou Qi will be participating for Team China, which added fuel to the fire in the sense that if he was allowed to play, then so should Clarkson.
Clarkson is coming off of his first NBA playoff appearance with the Cavs, averaging 12.6 points, 2.1 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 1.6 three-pointers per game on 45.6 percent shooting from the field and 40.7 percent from beyond the arc. He’ll look to lead the Filipino Team and carry his likely success into the regular season with the Cleveland Cavaliers.