If everything goes well, Jordan Clarkson, the high-flying guard of the Los Angeles Lakers, will be playing with the Philippine men's basketball team at the FIBA Asia Championship next year.
Manny V. Pangilinan, who has spent the last decade bankrolling the Philippine's men's basketball team also known as Gilas Pilipinas, is planning to make a petition before the FIBA central board, asking them to give them a bit of leeway with regards to enlisting Filipinos with foreign blood into the national basketball team.
"In January 2017, there's a FIBA central board meeting, but part of my mission, which was given to me by Sonny Barrios, is to persuade FIBA to relax their requirements for citizenship for eligibility of Fil-foreigners into the national team," Pangilinan stressed via ABS-CBN.com. "We just have to lobby the Central Board to get them to relax the eligibility requirements."
The Philippines has been a perennial contender in the Asian region, finishing with silver medal in the last two editions of the FIBA Asia Championships. Last July, the Philippines competed for a spot in the Rio Olympics, but failed to advance into the knockout round after losing to world power France and New Zealand in highly competitive matches.
Many basketball analysts believe the Phil Team is just one piece away from winning the regional meet and making a long-due comeback to the Olympics. That piece in the puzzle may very well be Clarkson, who expressed his commitment to lend his service to the national team until 2024 Olympics.
Collision Course with Jeremy Lin?
Should the FIBA central board allow the relaxing of rules with regards to citizens born abroad or of foreign parentage, the 24-year old Clarkson will likely head into a major Asian showdown with fellow NBA player Jeremy Lin, who is believed to join the Chinese Taipei basketball team next year.
Lin, who played with Clarkson during his 2014-15 season stint with the Lakers, will be a welcome addition to an already deadly Chinese Taipei backcourt. Lin's brother, Joseph, is currently playing for professional club Fubon Braves in the SBL and already being eyed to join the national pool.
The Philippine and Chinese Taipei have been one of the region's fiercest basketball rivals, with teams usually playing each other annually at the Jones Cup.