Asian Games: Cleveland Cavaliers pay tribute to Jordan Clarkson's Gilas Pilipinas debut

The NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers have paid tribute to their Filipino-American player Jordan Clarkson by creating a video of his best moments in the Gilas’ Asian Games basketball clash against China on Tuesday.

Clarkson scored 28 points, pulled down eight rebounds, had four assists and two steals – all of which the Cavs mentioned in a Twitter posting.

The 26-year-old Clarkson was making his debut for the Gilas after being given permission by the NBA to play in the Asian Games, the organisation having previously denied the likes of Clarkson and China’s Zhou Qi and Ding Yanyuhang from travelling to Jakarta.

His 28 points led the game although China won 82-80 after a titanic battle that saw the Philippines leading 80-77 with minutes remaining, with Zhou scoring 25 points

Clarkson himself tweeted: “Love being out there with my teammates representing my country,” after the game.

The Philippines next play defending Asian Games champions South Korea in the quarter-finals on Monday, with the team – including Clarkson – only put together a couple of weeks before the tournament.

The Philippines Basketball Association had pulled out of the Asian Games because 10 of their players were suspended for their involvement in a brawl with Australia during the Fiba World Cup finals. But they managed to scrape a team together and eventually decided to participate in Jakarta.