It wouldn’t have been surprising to see Jordan Clarkson feeling down after Gilas Pilipinas’ disappointing loss to Angola on Sunday at the Araneta Coliseum. After all, he had a bad shooting night, hitting just 7 of 22 shots from the field. But in a fast-paced tournament like the FIBA World Cup, there’s no time to dwell on a loss. Of course, Gilas’ main gunner knows that as well.
A few hours after falling to the African team, the Utah Jazz scoring specialist took to X (formerly Twitter) to share a positive and highly encouraging message.
“Your prayers will be answered and blessed,” he posted.
The fans related the post to Gilas’ FIBA World Cup campaign. The team has a 0-2 win-loss record as of this writing. As for the replies that the 2021 NBA Sixth Man of the Year winner got, some of them were encouraging, some offered advice, while some were critical in nature.
“JC, I love you man but 1/8 from the 3-point area will not get it done, see if you make it 5/8, easily, Gilas could have won by 2,” X user @Lulay47534253 posted.
A Clarkson supporter named @Ka_Efren meanwhile, wore his coaching hat to try to motivate the NBA star.
“Play with fun like in Utah. Enjoy the game,” he tweeted.
Another fan reassured the Gilas reinforcement that all he needs to do is soldier on because the entire country is in his corner.
“Keep fighting, Bro Jordan! The whole Filipino nation is at your back,” commented @Frank_1685.
The rest of the responses were simply confident-boosters, summed up in this post by @elcarterojazz.
“It's always a pleasure to watch you play. I know that the Philippine fans appreciate your effort. Let's go for the next game.”
Clarkson had already promised that despite two disappointing losses, they will keep pounding the rock.
"We're going to keep fighting for you all. We're going to keep playing, competing," he told reporters on Sunday after the game.
And if his tweet will hold true, the entire Philippines will be celebrating. Right now, the one and only hope of countless Filipino hoops fans is for Gilas to win big against Italy on Tuesday at 8 p.m.
The game will once again be played at the Big Dome. Catch it live or on-demand through the Pilipinas Live app.
(With reports from Martie Bautista, News5)
(GM)