MANILA, Philippines - Umaasa si Gilas Pilipinas coach Tab Baldwin na malalaman sa lalong madaling panahon kung makakalaro o hindi ang Fil-Am Lakers player na si Jordan Clarkson para sa Gilas Pilipinas.
Nag-aalala si Baldwin na makakaapekto sa training pool ang isyung ito kung hindi mareresolbahan agad.
“To have a player of his caliber is a great thing but the timing of when it comes in, it’s another disruption on the other side. So the sooner for me, the better, if he’s gonna be part of the program and indoctrinate him into what we’re trying to do,” sabi ni Baldwin sa News5. “From the sounds of it, he sounds really keen to be there so it could be an exciting development for all of us but I don’t wanna get my hopes up too much right now.”
Ayon kay Baldwin, hindi pa rin niya nakakausap ang SBP ukol kay Clarkson.
“They made me aware sometime ago that there were possibilities, but I think it’s a work in progress for them and I don’t think they’re gonna alert me or worry me with that until it becomes an actual development,” aniya.
Habang inaayos pa ang status ni Clarkson sa FIBA, sinabi ni SBP executive director Sonny Barrios kay Baldwin na gamitin muna ang mga available na players.
Kailangan pang tukuyin ng SBP kung si Clarkson ay magiging regular member ng team o magiging naturalized player base sa bagong FIBA rules.
Ang bawat bansa ay pinapayagan lang kumuha ng isang naturalized player sa FIBA competitions at ang Gilas ay mayroon nang Andray Blatche bukod pa sa reserbang si Moala Tautuaa.
“We’re keeping our fingers crossed,” sabi ni Butch Antonio, team manager ng Gilas na umaasang magiging regu-lar player si Clarkson.
Dumating ang Gilas noong Lunes ng gabi mula sa Estonia at magpapatuloy ang kanilang training kung saan inaasahang makikibahagi si Clarkson na posible ring makasama ng Team sa pagsabak sa Jones Cup bilang observer. (NB)