Clarkson arrives in PH to join Gilas' preps for FIBA World Cup

CNN Philippines

The sixth man becomes the main man. Filipino-American NBA star Jordan Clarkson is in town as the men's national basketball team  ramps up its preparations for the 2023 FIBA World Cup.  Pauline Verzosa has all the details in this report.  Visit our website for more #NewsYouCanTrust: https://www.cnnphilippines.com/  Follow our social media pages:  • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CNNPhilippines • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cnnphilippines/ • Twitter: https://twitter.com/cnnphilippines

Transcript

00:00 It's touchdown Manila for NBA star Jordan Clarkson. The Filipino-American

00:05 basketball player made his way to the country early Tuesday morning straight

00:08 from a 15-hour flight from Los Angeles, California.

00:12 How does it feel to be in Manila for the World Cup?

00:14 Great, great, great. Amazing.

00:17 The Utah Jazz star is expected to be the Philippines' biggest weapon as he reinforces

00:21 Gilas Pilipinas as its naturalized player for the 2023 FIBA World Cup.

00:25 Clarkson says he's ready and excited to reunite with his teammates, adding that

00:29 he's optimistic they'll win some games against their opponents, Italy, Angola,

00:33 and Dominican Republic. His much-awaited arrival just in time before the national

00:38 team opens its campaign on August 25.

00:40 We consider Jordan's arrival as our first official delegate. That's why I'm here today.

00:46 He's checking in already at the team hotel and he'll be there for the duration of the tournament.

00:51 But we expect the first team also to arrive on the 17th.

00:55 It's been a year since Clarkson last suited up for the country during the

00:58 World Cup qualifiers, but in a previous interview with CNN Philippines,

01:02 Coach Chotreya said he's not worried about integrating Clarkson into their system.

01:06 The good thing is that he's not coming in blind and he's not coming in as a newbie.

01:13 Because like I said, he already knows us. He already knows what we like to do.

01:17 He already knows his teammates.

01:19 So it's just a matter of really being able to sit down and tweak and sync everything up.

01:25 With only two weeks left before the World Cup, every minute counts for GILAS Pilipinas.

01:29 And so Clarkson is expected to join practice as soon as the national team resumes training

01:34 following their return from a pocket tournament in China.

01:37 Pauline Verzosa, CNN Philippines.

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