Clarkson will need all the help he can get from his Gilas teammates.
It looks like Kai Sotto has got Jordan Clarkson’s back.
Amid the chatter surrounding the continued absence of the former NBA Sixth Man of the Year, Sotto recently went on record to vouch for his Gilas brother, who he says is the team’s stud.
“JC’s an elite NBA player, and he’ll play 100 percent for Gilas,” Sotto told sports analyst Quinito Henson in the latter’s Playitright TV podcast on Friday. “JC’s our best player.”
Sotto, though, was quick to point out that Clarkson, who is supposed to arrive in Manila on Tuesday to join Gilas, will not be able to do it alone come the FIBA World Cup and will need his teammates to step up just the same.
“I’m hoping we can all help to support him. Basketball is a five-on-five team game, so it’s about helping each other,” explained Sotto, who reiterated in the same podcast his commitment to playing for Gilas.
The 7-foot-3 beanpole is also not worried about the supposed lack of time for Gilas to reintegrate him and Clarkson into the lineup.
“We’ve got time to prepare with JC for the World Cup,” Sotto said confidently. “And it’ll be all good.”
Sotto might have a point, as he and Clarkson have previously played for Gilas in the fourth window of the FIBA World Cup Asian qualifiers last year, also under coach Chot Reyes.
Gilas, of course, will need things to be good as it will be facing stiff competition in the FIBA World Cup starting with the Dominican Republic on August 25. The national team will next face Angola on August 27 before wrapping up the group phase versus Italy on August 29.