Filipinos will always be Filipinos. American Utah Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson held his first workout with Gilas Pilipinas on Saturday at the Meralco Gym in preparation for the fourth window of the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers. Clarkson worked out with the Gilas pool in blue practice jerseys and black leggings, accompanied by 7-foot-3 Adelaide center Kai Sotto. Clarkson, who landed in the nation late Friday night, shared photographs of himself training with Gilas on Instagram on Saturday. Clarkson’s face is animated, and he also put “Philippines” on his Twitter account.

Clarkson, 30, is likely to provide a significant boost to the 24-man Gilas pool for the fourth window of World Cup Asian Qualifiers. Bobby Ray Parks Jr., Dwight Ramos, Kiefer Ravena, Thirdy Ravena, Scottie Thompson, Japeth Aguilar, Jamie Malonzo, Calvin Oftana, June Mar Fajardo, CJ Perez, Chris Newsome, Allein Maliksi, Raymond Almazan, and Carl Tamayo will accompany him.

Francis Lopez, Kevin Quiambao, Kevin Alas, Jio Jalalon, Ian Sanggalang, Robert Bolick, RoAdams,lt Adams, and Arvin Tolentino round out the pool. Aguilar, Sanggalang, and Fajardo, on the other hand, have already withdrawn. Aguilar is said to have confirmed positive for COVID-19, Sanggalang rested after playing for Magnolia in a difficult series against TNT, and Fajardo is participating in the finals for San Miguel.

Clarkson, the 2021 NBA Sixth Man of the Year, is expected to join Gilas in the qualifiers’ fourth window, where the Philippines will face Lebanon on August 25 in Lebanon and Saudi Arabia on August 29 at the Mall of Asia Arenarebounds.

Clarkson is joining Gilas for the first time following a run with the national team at the 2018 Asian Games, where he led the Philippines to a fifth-place finish while averaging 26.0 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 5.5 assists. Clarkson, who will play for Gilas as a naturalized player, is expected to lead the Philippines in the fourth round with a 2-2 win-loss record in Group E. Gilas will depart for Lebanon on Monday.