‘Amazing behavior’: Italy coach raves over Clarkson

MANILA, Philippines – Italy head coach Gianmarco Pozzecco was all praises for Gilas Pilipinas star Jordan Clarkson, saying the NBA player “surprised him” because of his attitude.

“Clarkson is a really huge star, but he has amazing behavior,” Pozzecco told reporters after their game against Gilas Tuesday night, which they won 90-83.

“He surprised me, not because he’s a star, because I knew… He played with emotion, with heart. He was really involved,” he added.

The Italian coach cited the instance where Clarkson’s emotions came up after the game against the Dominican Republic, when the scoring machine fouled out.

“After the first game, he was on the bench. After his fifth foul, he was really sad,” he added.

Pozzecco also lauded the whole Gilas team for their gallant efforts in their past three defeats.

Gilas lost against the Dominican Republic, 87-81, and Angola, 80-70, before their defeat against Italy.

They are off to the classification round.

“I’d like to congratulate the Filipino staff and all the players. They did an amazing job today, but not just today. You have to be proud of your players,” he said.

“You had a great tournament. You lost three games but you fought in all of them, all of those games and so you have to be really proud of your guys,” he added.

Italy (2-1) and the Dominican Republic are off to the second round of the FIBA World Cup.