Clarkson can draw the defense and free up our shooters. His skills are very good, all of these combined translates to a quicker transition for him to create adjustments.

JAKARTA — All that national basketball coach Yeng Guiao wanted was a chance against mighty China, however slim. Then, he could take it from there.

“If before, we are a 100 to 1 underdog against China, now we are just 100 to 20, we bettered the odds,” said Guiao, whose wards battle the 2018 Asian Games favorites on Tuesday at 4 p.m. (5 p.m. Manila time)
“We admit they Chinese are the favorites, but I feel the more important thing is that now, we feel that we have more of a chance to win. We never had that before,” Guiao added.

Credit National Basketball Association star Jordan Clarkson for that “slight” boost in the odds.

“What’s good for us is, he (Clarkson) can draw the defense and free up our shooters. His skills are very good, all of these combined translates to a quicker transition for him to create adjustments. So, it’s going to be two against one, Clarkson vs the two NBA Chinese players,” added Guiao, referring to players Zhou Qi and Ding Yanyuang.

Qi is a 7’1” backup slotman of the Houston Rockets, while Ding is a 6’7” forward of the Dallas Mavericks.

Best Chinese team
“China is bringing its best team in the Asian Games. It is solid on all fronts specially its frontline,” said the Philippine Team’s chief scout Ryan Gregorio, himself a three-time PBA champion coach.

“Zhou Qi is tall and quick. He has a range that can extend to the 3-point range. He has great anticipation skills on defense. Ding is quick, strong and has long range,” added Gregorio.

One of the plans, according to Guiao, is try to keep the game close, be aggressive the entire 40 minutes and out-run their rivals.

“We will try to duplicate the defense that we did against Kazakhstan,” said Guiao, referring to the 96-59 beating they handed the Kazakhs last Wednesday.

“We will be banking on our quickness. We lack the height and length but we can compensate with our quickness and intelligence,” seconded Gregorio.