THE inclusion of Jordan Clarkson during the 2018 Asian Games is one of the most memorable moments of Gilas Pilipinas.
Then playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Clarkson made his Gilas Pilipinas debut during the Asiad, flying straight to Jakarta to join the national team then coached by Yeng Guiao at the last minute to play.
Gilas Pilipinas later finished fifth in the tournament won by China.
READ: Lesson from 2014 letdown convinced Gilas to field fresher team to Asiad
There was a reason why Clarkson came to Jakarta at the eleventh-hour for Gilas Pilipinas.
NBA players are only allowed to play for their respective national teams in the Olympics and FIBA tournaments following an agreement between the NBA and FIBA. But in 2018, the NBA issued a ‘special, one-time exception’ that paved the way for Clarkson to play for the Philippines in the Asian Games.
Clarkson wasn’t the only one that was given such permission as China’s Zhou Qi and Ding Yanyuhang, then playing for the Houston Rockets and Dallas Mavericks respectively, were also allowed to play.
The NBA issued a statement on the cases of Clarkson, Zhou, and Ding on August 15, 2018 on the second day of the Asian Games basketball competitions.
“The National Basketball Association today announced that it has granted a special exception for NBA players to play in the 2018 Asian Games, permitting Cleveland Cavaliers guard Jordan Clarkson, Houston Rockets center Zhou Qi and Dallas Mavericks forward Ding Yanyuhang to represent their respective countries in this year’s event,” the NBA said in the statement.
The statement also read:
“The NBA’s agreement with FIBA stipulates that NBA players can participate in the Olympics, the FIBA Basketball World Cup, Continental Cup competitions and associated qualifying tournaments. Because the Asian Games are not one of those competitions, NBA players under contract are unable to participate.
However, due to a lack of clear communication of that agreement between the NBA and the Chinese and Philippines Basketball Federations, and after further discussions with both Federations, the NBA has agreed to provide this one-time exception.”
The NBA and the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas also issued a joint statement on Clarkson’s inclusion to Gilas.
“After continued communication between the SBP and the NBA over the past few days, we were able to come together to pave the way for Jordan Clarkson to represent the Philippines in the 2018 Asian Games. The SBP and the NBA have a longstanding relationship of working together to grow the game of basketball in the Philippines, and we share in the excitement of fans across the country and wish Gilas Pilipinas the very best in Indonesia,” the SBP said.
It is with this NBA statement that Clarkson and other Asian NBA players have not played in the quadrennial meet after the Jakarta edition.
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