I just saw the Gilas Pilipinas beatdown on Lebanon.
Yes, Lebanon is missing a couple of vital cogs but they are still a team to beat.
Also, what the hell is a Mason Amos?
Mason Amos is a big-time find that I will cheer if he's not playing against my UST Growling Tigers.
I think I need a separate blog for him.
In the midst of our victory lies a problem.
I know this is a good problem. With that said, it is still a problem. Here, we have two schools of thought.
Like this social media message if you want Jordan Clarkson to represent the Philippines in the 2023 FIBA World Cup and message the blog post if you want Justin Brownlee to play for Gilas.
The staging of the FIBA World Cup is the biggest reason why Jordan Clarkson is representing the Philippines on the international stage. The Utah Jazz guard is expected to lead our attack against the world's best. While we are not expecting to win a medal, we want our boys to fight valiantly.
We had this same problem back a couple of years back. Marcus Douthit is the Kuya who does his best to help the team to victory but it is Andray Blatche who is the feared naturalized player. The reason why Blatche is out of the NBA is the exact reason why we need him. Sure, he's always out of shape... but he's the most talented naturalized player we ever had... until now.
Clarkson is a scoring machine. He wants to represent the Philippines and we want him to represent us in international tiffs. With that said, he's also at the end of his contract year. Utah is a rebuilding franchise and he's the only main guy left in Quin Snyder's squad. Throughout the season, we have seen trade rumors involving Clarkson, and as much as he's a keeper in most situations, we can't rule out a trade to a contender especially if it would amount to a smorgasbord of trade assets. Like Douthit, Justin Brownlee is an import familiar to the Philippine cause. He has played in the ABL and even for Mighty Sports. Needless to say, he may not be as big of a name as Clarkson but he knows how to play like an import.
And the thing with Brownlee is that he can play his Ginebra brand of the ball with June Mar Fajardo, Kai Sotto, and Japeth Aguilar also in the squad. Brownlee is more do-it-all than Clarkson who knows that he's more of a scorer. And as mentioned, he is one of those players whose value is more in the NBA. Jordan Clarkson is an overachiever in the sense that he is a former second-round pick who has a better NBA career as compared to the top ten picks of his 2014 draft class like Jabari Parker, Dante Exum, Nik Stauskas, Noah Vonleh, and even Elfrid Payton. More on Exum, the Aussie's NBA career went to waste when he tore his ACL when Australia battled Slovenia in 2015. At 30, Clarkson can be seen as an elder statesman for young teams and if he joins a contender, his career would either progress or regress depending on his worth as a Sixth Man offensive machine. Brownlee is assured of a career in the Philippines than Clarkson.
As mentioned, pitting Clarkson and Brownlee is a good problem... but a problem, nonetheless.
If I were going to choose, I am still going with Clarkson because Chot Reyes and the rest of his deputies are probably using Brownlee as a Clarkson-type simulation. I guess this is why while most cogs are interchanging, their plays on the SG/SF spot are the most constant. At least Brownlee is a dependable provider in case Clarkson misses the tourney.
Now, can we have more big men to further pad our paint?