JORDAN Clarkson playing for Gilas Pilipinas was an absolute treat.
Showcasing his prowess while representing his mother's homeland, the former NBA Sixth Man of the Year awardee was as good as advertised, delighting the fans with his array of dunks and sweet three-pointers on his way to posting 25.0 points on 41-percent shooting from distance, to go with 6.5 assists and 5.5 rebounds.
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But the Utah Jazz gunner won't be wearing the national tri-colors until the big dance next year when he's expected to spearhead the country in the 2023 Fiba World Cup.
A window of opportunity opens for the rest of the crew as coach Chot Reyes challenges his wards to step up.
Lucky for Gilas, we've got a bumper crop of players who are ready to make up for Clarkson's absence.
Dwight Ramos
Dwight Ramos is one of three B.League players in the squad.
Ramos was expected to take a backseat when Clarkson was first announced to join the team last August.
Yet the Fil-Am guard still found ways, averaging 13.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 3.0 steals, and 2.0 assists in the fourth window.
He rode that wave of momentum in his new team Levanga Hokkaido where he now leads the Japan B.League in steals with 2.8 per game while also being one of the anchors for his side with his 12.6 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 4.3 assists.
Bobby Ray Parks
Ray Parks could get more minutes this time.
Of all the players who had to accommodate Clarkson's entry in the last window, it was Parks who suffered the biggest dip in minutes as he only played in less than 10 minutes in August.
Sparingly used for those games against Lebanon and Saudi Arabia, the former Asean Basketball League (ABL) MVP only contributed 3.0 points, 1.5 asissts, and 1.0 rebound in that stretch.
That's not a dig in his capabilities though, as evidenced by him continuing to shoot the lights out when he returned to Japan for the Nagoya Diamond Dolphins where he netted 9.1 points on 34-percent shooting from deep, 2.4 rebounds, 1.4 assists, and 1.0 steal through nine games.
Expect more of Ray-Ray in these road games.
CJ Perez
CJ Perez is also in back in the pool.
If there's one thing working in Perez's favor in his time with San Miguel, it's that he has learned how to thrive playing in a star-studded team rather than just being a one-man show.
Having that wisdom only allows him to understand when to pick his spots and take charge when his team needs to, and it has worked to a tee as he produced 18.1 points on an efficient 46-percent field goal shooting, alongside 5.9 rebounds, 4.1 assists, and 1.1 steals in the Beermen's seven games this PBA Governors' Cup.
It's been two years since Perez last donned the Gilas jersey and count on him to make the most of this national team return.
Roger Pogoy
Veteran guard Roger Pogoy brings a wealth of Gilas experience to this team.
At this point, Pogoy has proven that he can score in bunches and he continues to show that for TNT in the PBA Governors' Cup.
Averaging 18.9 points on a mercurial 46-percent shooting from deep, the Cebuano's gunslinging ways should come in handy all the more as he continues to thrive under Reyes' system.
If Pogoy can replicate this hot shooting on the road while also contributing the same way he does for the Tropang Giga, where he also collected 4.3 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 1.9 steals in eight games, that certainly spells trouble for Jordan and Saudi Arabia.
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