Jordan Clarkson now in Manila to join Gilas Pilipinas for FIBA World Cup

Gilas Pilipinas player Jordan Clarkson has arrived in Manila to join the Philippine national men's basketball team in its 2023 FIBA World Cup campaign later this month.

The Filipino-American NBA star, who plays for the Utah Jazz, landed at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport on early Tuesday morning.

Clarkson is tipped to suit up for Gilas in the global competition as a naturalized player as he is set to play his third stint for the Philippines, bolstering the country during the 2018 Asian Games and fourth window of the World Cup Asian qualifiers a year ago.

The 31-year-old guard will join a Gilas squad that's coming off a fruitful run in the  2023 Heyuan WUS International Basketball Tournament in China, where the Filipinos won three of their four games.

Gilas is also expected to take on Mexico and Montenegro in a couple of friendly games here prior to the World Cup.

The Philippines will kick off its World Cup campaign on August 25 against world no. 23 Dominican Republic before slugging it out against no. 41 Angola on August 27 and no. 10 Italy on August 29.

—Bea Micaller/JMB, GMA Integrated News