Gordon welcomes Phl to FIBA World Cup

MANILA, Philippines - Manila visitor NBA guard Eric Gordon of the New Orleans Pelicans said the other day it would be an honor to play against the Philippines at the FIBA World Cup and that came from someone who claimed a gold medal with the US squad at the 2010 edition in Turkey.

Gordon, 24, isn’t in contention for a spot on the Stars and Stripes team playing at the FIBA World Cup in Spain on Aug. 30-Sept. 14 next year but his name is etched in history as one of the 12 who saw action for coach Mike Krzyzewski in Istanbul three years ago. The others on the 2010 championship team were Chauncey Billups, Tyson Chandler, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Rudy Gay, Danny Granger, Andre Igoudala, Kevin Love, Lamar Odom, Derrick Rose and Russell Westbrook.

Krzyzewski recently ran an inter-squad scrimmage to check out prospects in Las Vegas with Kyrie Irving and Gordon’s New Orleans teammate Anthony Davis emerging as standouts. Davis was a deep reserve on the US team that hit paydirt at the London Olympics last year. Gordon’s Pelican coach Monty Williams called the shots for one of the teams in the scrimmage with Chicago’s Tom Thibodeau the other while Krzyzewski watched from the sidelines.

“I definitely would like to see you guys (Gilas) at the World Championships,” said Gordon in a one-on-one interview with The STAR at the Sofitel Hotel last Thursday. “Hopefully, you get the chance.” The Philippines will qualify for Spain if it finishes in the top three at the FIBA-Asia Championships here starting Thursday.

Gordon said globalization has transformed the basketball landscape into an international playground. “It definitely means a lot for Americans to come over here and it also means a lot for Asians and Europeans to come over to our side,” he said. “It’s about bringing a different brand of basketball to the NBA and it’s always good to showcase different kinds of basketball.”

Regarding naturalization as a way to even the playing field in the game, Gordon said “that’s the crazy part” but liked the concept of players moving around the world to display their wares. “It’s always good for players, like coming from Asia, to build themselves up and get to play in the NBA, that’s what I like,” he added.

Realistically, Gordon said he doesn’t foresee the US team losing ever again in the World Cup or the Olympics. “Our guys are getting better and better,” he said. “In the US, guys are playing together a lot more and you’ve got a young group that’s very, very dominant and tough to beat.” For 2014, Durant and Love recently announced their availability to play. James Harden, who’s in town with Gordon for the NBA 3x games, appears to be a shoo-in for the team along with Chris Paul, Westbrook, Davis and Carmelo Anthony. It’s not certain if LeBron James and Kobe Bryant will choose to play in Spain.

Gordon said his first sport was soccer. “I played soccer, basketball and football as a kid,” he said. “When I was a kid, seven years old, my favorite sport was soccer but it wasn’t my best sport. I thought it would be better for me to play basketball over the long haul.”

Gordon said his most lethal weapon, the outside shot, was something that came naturally and from hard work in the gym. “It came natural to me, shooting jump shots, but you have to work on it all the time,” he said. “You definitely have to keep working on it at this level because you’re playing against guys so much taller and stronger and sometimes, you don’t want to go to the basket all the time and you shoot that jump shot.”

Although Williams hasn’t led New Orleans to the playoffs the last two years, Gordon said the Pelicans coach is the right man for the job. “He brings a lot of leadership, he’s a serious guy, defense-oriented and he established a lot of what we need to do to win,” said Gordon, the Los Angeles Clippers first round pick in the 2008 NBA draft. “It’s good to have him with us.” In 2011-12, Williams piloted the team to a 21-45 record and this past season, New Orleans went to 27-55, second worst in the Western Conference and fifth worst in the league. The 6-4 Gordon averaged 17 points and 3.3 assists, shooting 842 from the line and .324 from three-point range, in the last campaign.

Gordon said the outlook is bright for the Pelicans. In the offseason, New Orleans shored up by bringing in Jrue Holiday from Philadelphia and Tyreke Evans from Sacramento. “Possibly, that’s what you hope for, to be a playoff contender, but it’s a growing process,” he said. “You just can’t put a stamp on it and we’ll be in the playoffs. We’re going through growing pains but we’ll get there.”

Gordon encouraged players all over the world to bring out their best game wherever they are. “For anybody making it in this league, what can you do better than anybody else?” he went on “Everybody around the world plays so it’s all about what you can do better than someone else.”

Gordon, Harden, six Indiana Pacemates cheerdancers and Memphis Grizzlies’ mascot Grizz will be at the SM Mall of Asia Music Hall for the 200-team NBA 3x event starting at 9 a.m. today. The semifinals and finals of the 3x boys U-13, girls U-16, boys U-16, boys U-18, boys open and girls open will be played starting at 3 p.m. The celebrity division finals will be played at 1:30 p.m. after the NBA Cares presentation related to the Special Olympics. A slam dunk contest will spice up the program at 2:30 p.m. The NBA guests will be on hand to interact with 3x players and the media. The awarding ceremony begins at 4:30 p.m.