Filipinos aren’t claiming Clarkson just because he has “Filipino blood”. We’re just proud of a brother who claimed us first
Long before he’s a champ with Knicks, he wants to play for PH
As a matter of fact, just after his first season in NBA, he shared desire to play for Gilas
And Clarkson didn’t want to play for Gilas as an import. He wanted to play as a “local”
He endlessly lobbied to FIBA to acknowledge him as local
While FIBA has yet to acknowledge Clarkson as a local, Asian Games did and he was able to play in Asian Games as a local for the Philippines team
Clarkson isn’t the first player with Filipino blood to play in the NBA but he certainly is the first to strongly express desire to play for the flag 🇵🇭
@JordanClarksons is a Filipino. Plain and simple
Notice how foreign nations claim a Black athlete only after they accomplish something great.