MANILA – Gilas Pilipinas head coach Chot Reyes calls the eventual decision to choose between naturalized players Justin Brownlee and Jordan Clarkson a “luxury” once the men’s national team finalizes its FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 roster.

“The reason why they’re both there (in the pool) is because of their skills, and the other intangibles that they bring to the table,” Reyes said on Tuesday night.

“We love the fact that we have that luxury of choosing from both of them, and we’ll see what happens.”

Brownlee was the squad’s only naturalized player during the 32nd Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia, and the long-time Barangay Ginebra import made sure to leave an indelible mark as he averaged 18 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 3.4 assists for the nationals’ gold medal-winning campaign.

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The PBA Governors’ Cup veteran first suited up for Gilas during the sixth window of the Asian qualifiers earlier this year, right after he officially gained Filipino citizenship via law.

Clarkson, on the other hand, participated during the fourth window of the qualifiers which coincided with the NBA's offseason.

For now, Reyes said it is too early to decide who will get the naturalized player spot.

“Right now, it’s still a long way. There’s going to be a lot of trainings. We will be back and then we will make the final deliberations when the time is right,” he said.

The mentor earlier mentioned how there would be no final 12 “shoo-ins” and that multiple considerations will be weighed in determining the World Cup-bound team.

“No one’s a lock, and that goes for everyone. Right now, there are no shoo-ins. That goes for all the local players and even the naturalized players,” Reyes said in February.

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“I always talk about how they fit into the way we want to play, and how they fit into each other. That’s always the two types of fits. And the third type of fit is how fit they are, physically. Their fitness. If you have a nagging injury or whatever, you’re not going to be in the lineup,” he added.

“We want to get the fittest of players. So that’s it. Those three things were the main takeaways that we had from the windows.”

As for the Utah Jazz guard’s availability in August, Reyes disclosed that Gilas has been constantly in touch with Clarkson’s father Mike, regarding his commitment to the national team.

“I know we’re in touch with his family, we’re working with his father Mike, so we are working on that now. Again, we couldn’t make any commitments until we got through this Southeast Asian Games first,” Reyes said at the time.

“So now, we can really sit down and plan the final details for the World Cup preparations.”

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Clarkson has a player option for the 2023-2024 NBA season, which means he can opt in and stay with the Jazz at $14.2 million in his final year, or opt out and become an unrestricted free agent.

According to Reyes, Gilas will resume its regular training sessions by June. Details on the group’s overseas camp and pocket tournament will then be finalized and announced.

“They are not yet finalized. We are going to make announcements when it’s final,” he said.

The Philippines is in Group A of the prestigious international basketball meet, alongside global powerhouse Serbia, Dominican Republic, and Angola.

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