‘Gilastopainters’ begin Asiad bid

NATIONAL coach Yeng Guiao stresses pointers to the Gilas Pilipinas, represented by Rain or Shine, during a break in practice for their game today against Kazakhstan in the 18th Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia. contributed photo JAKARTA — Jordan Clarkson may be on his way but all odds are still stacked against Rain or Shine (RoS)-powered Gilas Pilipinas as it kicks off its quest for glory against Kazakhstan in the men’s basketball competition of the 18th Asian Games Thursday at the Jakarta Convention Center here.

After finally getting cleared by both the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Olympic Council of Asia, Clarkson boarded the flight from Los Angeles to this bustling metropolis, hoping to suit up in their 10 a.m. (11 a.m. in Manila) match against the taller, heftier Kazakhs.

Chief of mission Richard Gomez, however, confirmed that Clarkson will not make the game as his flight, United Airlines Flight 37, will have to go through Singapore and land at exactly 10 a.m. of Thursday at the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.

With that, Gilas Pilipinas has to face the Kazakhs with an 11-man roster after guard Don Trollano was formally scratched to make room for the 6-foot-5 Cleveland Cavaliers playmaker.

But Clarkson’s presence – or absence, rather – is not the main concern for head coach Yeng Guiao.

Guiao said he is bothered by the fact that they would march into battle with only eight solid days of preparation due to the changing decisions by Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas whether to field a team here or not in the past couple of months.

Most of the players are familiar with each other as the core of Gabe Norwood, Beau Belga, James Yap, Chris Tiu, Mav Ahanmisi and Raymond Almazan are parts of the Elasto Painters while Guiao and Paul Lee also used to play vital roles for the squad in its campaign in the Philippine Basketball Association.

But the NLEX mentor, also a former RoS coach, said it isn’t enough reason to celebrate as the Asian Games are an elite tournament where the squad with the best chemistry and international experience always prevails.

“Our biggest concern really is the lack of preparation time,” said Guiao after presiding the Nationals’ final practice at the Gor Lokasari gym Wednesday.

“Although with the time we spent together we made a lot of progress. The team is jelling well, the camaraderie is very good and everybody’s absorbing the system very well. That’s the good news,” Guiao said.

“The bad news is that we could have had a little more time,” he quipped.

“From a scale of 1-10, maybe it’s an 8.5.”

Guiao stressed that his system has been in place and most of the players, especially those from RoS, already know it by heart and mind.

One major problem he’s seeing could be the entry of Clarkson.

Save for his excellent quarterbacking skills and playing next to superstars LeBron James and Kevin Love, Clarkson is a known facilitator who dictates the tempo and runs the offense.

Unlike previous guest players like Marcus Douthit and Andray Blatche, both 6-foot-11 pivotmen, Clarkson is a playmaker and a scorer who is more effective when the ball is in his hands.

In a previous interview, Guiao floated the idea of maximizing Clarkson’s offensive skills by inserting him into his wing rotation together with Yap, Lee, Ahanmisi and Tiu.

Guiao said Clarkson’s presence would be a big help but having him in the roster would not “magically” turn the Philippines into a solid contender.

“Of course, if Jordan Clarkson is playing, that’s going to be a big help. But it will also take a little time to jell him in and fit him into the system of the team,” Guiao said. “So, we’ll see. That’s going to be a very good problem.”

Guiao said being the first Filipino coach to handle Clarkson puts a lot of pressure on him.

“It’s really an honor and a privilege, but also at the same time, there are lots of expectations,” he said.

“So, it feels really satisfying as a coach to be able to coach such a talent like Clarkson and, at the same time, you have to look at it as a challenge to bring out, not only the best in him, but the best in the whole team.”

“The challenge here is how can we maximize that talent being surrounded by the people that we already have here?”

The game against Kazakhstan will be a test of character for the Nationals.

The Philippine Centennial Team beat the Kazakhs in the bronze medal match in the Bangkok Asian Games in 1998.

The giants from Central Asia fired back and edged the Filipinos in the bronze medal game in the Busan Asian Games in 2002.

The rivalry took an interesting twist when Gilas Pilipinas prevailed over the Kazakhs, 67-65, in the Incheon Asian Games in 2014. But the victory was worthless as the Philippines failed to win by 11 points, highlighted by a shocking twist where Marcus Douthit was instructed to shoot at the Kazakh basket just to meet the spread.

Again, this time, the country’s medal hopes depend on the outcome of this match.

Should the Philippines prevail here and lose to China in its next match, it would face the top seed in Group A, which could be the mighty South Korea.

Should the Philippines lose the first and drop its next assignment to China, it then kisses the tournament goodbye.

But if the Filipinos win over Kazakhstan and China, they will meet the runner-up in Group A, which could be Mongolia.

“This game is very crucial for us,” Guiao said, adding that they will play their hearts out even without Clarkson against Kazakhstan.

We’re prepared to play Kazakhstan without Jordan Clarkson and we feel that we have a pretty good game plan and the coaches did a great job preparing the mindset of the team. We’re ready,” he said.