May 29, 2016
Countdown to Manila OQT: 37 days
Gilas Pilipinas head coach Tab Baldwin said he is thankful to have Jordan Clarkson in Manila to give the national team some encouragement, but he also feels disappointed that Clarkson is still ineligible to play as a local for the squad.
“It is always great to have Jordan around. He is a very engaging guy, he is a great young kid and I think it is a shame he is not playing for the Philippines,” Baldwin shared on Saturday during the unveiling of Gilas’ new Nike jerseys which was graced by Clarkson.
“I think FIBA needs to wake up to the reality that there are a lot of great basketball players in this world who should have rights to citizenship to a lot of countries other than the United States,” Baldwin added.
“Just because they live there and train there, it doesn’t mean their heritage does not belong to another country.”
Clarkson joined Gilas Pilipinas last year, but was also ineligible to suit up as a local for the Philippines during the 2015 FIBA Asia Championship as he lacked documents.
“I think the world of basketball is a little bit robbed of not seeing these players on the court playing international basketball,” Baldwin said, adding the governing body should make a move regarding its player citizenship rules.
“However, I understand the challenges they have too. They’ve had many cases in the past where (teams) bend the rules to their favor or get around the rules. So FIBA has to do something, but I feel sorry for Clarkson; he’s Filipino,” Baldwin said.
“It’s not just him who wants to play for the country: it’s every single Filipino. The basketball world wants to see each great athlete in the world in international events. I think we have to figure out a better way to do what we are doing now.”
