by Jason Cruz
Northwest Asia Weekly
Welcome to another version of layup drills. In this issue, we take a look at Jordan Clarkson’s summer, Jeremy Lin’s new team, and a young tennis star finding a partner.
Clarkson for the Philippines
Jordan Clarkson
NBA veteran Jordan Clarkson finally got his chance to play for the Philippine national basketball team after much discussion and planning. Clarkson’s 27 points and seven assists came in the Asian Games qualifiers for the 2024 Summer Olympics. The Philippines lost 85-81 to Lebanon last August.
In addition to Clarkson, the Philippines also has Kesotto, the 7-foot center who has followed the NBA but currently plays in Australia’s National Basketball League. However, simply defeating Lebanon is not enough.
Despite the loss, Clarkson is happy to finally represent his grandmother’s birthplace.
“I know you’re all looking at the big picture, but a lot of it was for my grandmother,” Clarkson told reporters after the loss to Lebanon. “Just wanted to keep her name, make her proud, and carry on to this day. That’s probably the biggest reason why I still represent the flag and the country to this day.”
Clarkson, who played for the Utah Jazz last season, said the Philippine national team’s international game won’t just be a case of plain sailing. In fact, he has spoken to current Houston Rockets member Jaylen Green and hopes to play for the team at some point in the future.
“We’re talking about just going out and curating what’s going on there.” Clarkson added, “I don’t want to say too much, but yeah, we’re just thankful for the love of the Philippines.”
Jeremy Lin signs new team
Jeremy Lin
Jeremy Lin, who turns 34 in August, continues his professional basketball career in China. For the past two seasons, Jeremy Lin played for the Beijing Ducks of the Chinese Basketball Association. He announced that he signed with the Guangzhou Long-Lions this fall.
“The journey continues! Still feeling like a kid and fulfilling my basketball dreams,” Lim wrote on his Instagram account. Jeremy Lin is attempting an NBA comeback in the 2020-2021 season and will play for the Golden State Warriors’ G-League affiliate in January 2021.
However, he was not called up to the home team roster.
Lin’s minutes with the Ducks declined in 2021-2022, where he averaged 13.4 points, 3.6 rebounds and 4.7 assists, down from 22.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and 5.6 assists in 2019-20. He also saw less minutes with the Ducks. After his contract in Beijing expired, there was speculation that he would play in Taiwan. Lin is still popular in the country of his parents’ birth, and every professional basketball team in Taiwan has been lucky enough to have Lin. However, with the announcement, Lin will continue to play in China.
Fernandez finds tennis partner through social media
Laila Fernandez
Canadian Filipino tennis pro Laila Fernandez has a successful mixed doubles match at the U.S. Open. As of this writing, Fernandez and her partner, American Jack Sock, have advanced to the US Open mixed doubles quarterfinals. The 30-year-old Nebraska native Lincoln and the 20-year-old Montreal native of Quebec appear to be an odd couple. In fact, it might be. Fernandez said her “dream mixed doubles partner” included Sock. It appears that he read that article because they were paired up for the race.
After an impressive singles finish to the final at the U.S. Open last year, she suffered a upset second-round loss. Fernandez still played with Sock at the U.S. Open, though.
“The doubles are so much fun,” Fernandez told reporters this week. “Even though there may be fans in the stands, because there are more players on the pitch, there will always be some laughter here and there.”
Maybe this pair of tennis geeks will go further in the game. Sock is a 6-foot-3 veteran, while Fernandez just turned 20 and is 5-foot-6.
Jason is available at info@nwasianweekly.com.
