Jalen Green and Jordan Clarkson are the pride of the basketball-mad Philippines. The couple made history on Thursday as the first two Filipino players to share the field in an NBA game, and now Clarkson is encouraging Green to play for the Philippine national team Gilas Pilipinas.
“The next thing we have to work on is getting Jalen in those jerseys,” said Clarkson on Thursday, referring to Gilas Pilipinas, whom he represented at the 2018 Asian Games.
Green replied by saying, “I don’t want to say too much now. It’s early, it’s early. “
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Green has not closed the door on the Philippines and said last August that “it could happen”. However, it remains unclear whether he obtained a Filipino passport at a young age in order to qualify under FIBA rules.
In addition, at the age of 17, Green played for Team USA at the 2019 FIBA U19 World Cup, where he won gold alongside Tyrese Haliburton, Cade Cunningham and Scottie Barnes. The FIBA rules state that a player who turns 17
Regardless of which country he represents in the senior team, Green was full of appreciation for his Filipino fans on Thursday after the game.
“Coming here and playing the game I love, with the Filipino country behind me, I’m always grateful,” he said.
Green and Clarkson will next play against each other when the Rockets take on jazz in Salt Lake City on January 19th.
