Fil-Am player Jordan Clarkson, who is currently playing for the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA, might be qualified to play as a natural born Filipino after all. According to the SBP, Clarkson got his Filipino passport at the age of 12, way ahead of the 16 year old maximum limit set by the current FIBA rules.
According to the SBP, the passports with other documents has been submitted to FIBA. Clarkson, who is set to arrive in Manila tonight for a endorsement contract signing, will be bringing along supplementary documents that FIBA requested for his accreditation.
This is a welcome positive development to the team, who is currently rebuilding with the best talent available and any talented player of Clarkson's caliber will definitely help the team. Clarkson is also expected to observe the Gilas practice and their participation in the William Jones Cup next month in Taipei.
With Clarkson's addition, Gilas will boast of 2 NBA caliber players - Andray Blatche, who is our current naturalized player, and him. The other Gilas players will also benefit a lot from this experience, having trained and played with a current NBA player.
It is very refreshing to see that Fil-Am players are considering to come back here and represent the country. I really hope that this gesture by Clarkson will influence other talented Fil-foreign kids will also consider getting their Philippine passports before the limit set by FIBA so they can also come back and help Gilas in the future.
Right now, it is in the hands of FIBA to decide if Clarkson is eligible or not. Let us also hope that the Lakers will allow him to play as well.
Image is from the ESPN website.
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