Jordan Clarkson was not able to suit up for the Philippines in their quest to make it to the 2024 Paris Olympics with the team opting to roll with its most recent roster for continuity purposes. The NBA schedule made it impossible for the Utah Jazz guard to suit up consistently for the team famously known as Gilas Pilipinas.

Nonetheless, despite being without their best player in Clarkson, Gilas Pilipinas pulled off a stunning upset victory over Latvia, 89-80, to begin their journey in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT).

The Jazz guard, whose mother is Filipina, which makes him a recognized Filipino based on jus sanguinis, couldn't contain his excitement over the Philippines' once-in-a-lifetime upset win over the sixth-ranked basketball nation in the world.

“letsss goooo ‼️‼️❣️,” Clarkson wrote on his official Twitter (X) account.

Team Latvia may have been without Kristaps Porzingis, who is currently recovering from offseason surgery, and Arturs Zagars, the 24-year-old guard who broke out during the 2023 FIBA World Cup in the Philippines, but the sixth-ranked team in the FIBA rankings still had a ton of firepower on the active roster.

The tournament was also held in their capital city of Riga, making it a herculean task for Gilas Pilipinas to keep the game close, much less for them to pull off their first-ever victory against a European team in 64 years.

Now, all the Philippines need to advance to the top four of the OQT is to avoid losing by 19 points or more against Georgia, a team that will be led by Orlando Magic big man Goga Bitadze and San Antonio Spurs center Sandro Mamukelashvili.

Gilas Pilipinas has made plenty of strides over the past year or so. It's not too difficult to imagine just how much better the team would be if Jordan Clarkson was eligible to play as a local under FIBA rules.

But if the Philippines continue to execute their offense and fight on defense the way they did on Wednesday afternoon, then there might be a Cinderella story waiting to happen come the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Philippines make history despite being without Jordan Clarkson

As stated earlier, the Philippine constitution recognizes Jordan Clarkson as a Filipino. His mother, Annette Davis, is a Filipino-American. Davis' mother (Clarkson's grandmother) originally hailed from Pampanga, Philippines. However, FIBA rules state that, for a player to be classified as a local, they must have gotten their local passport before they turned 16 years of age.

FIBA instated this rule to prevent teams from abusing their own laws to recruit multiple players of other nationalities to turn the nation into a basketball powerhouse. This rule, however, has cost the Philippines the services of the Jazz guard on multiple occasions.

Gilas Pilipinas has found a way to enlist Jordan Clarkson's services, most recently during the 2023 FIBA World Cup but as a naturalized player. For the uninitiated, only one naturalized player can represent a country in FIBA-sanctioned events.

Clarkson memorably went bonkers in the Philippines' final game of last year's World Cup, scoring 24 points in the third quarter to lead Gilas to their only win of the competition.

Since then, the Philippine team has continued to flourish even without Clarkson. Gilas Pilipinas claimed the gold during the most recent iteration of the Asian Games, and they demolished Hong Kong and Chinese Taipei during the February 2024 window of the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers.

Gilas Pilipinas' success without Clarkson boils down to the continued improvements of the team's local players, such as Dwight Ramos and Kai Sotto, as well as the stellar, all-around play of naturalized forward Justin Brownlee.

Brownlee was the hero of the Philippines' win over Latvia, tallying 26 points, nine rebounds, and nine assists in an effort that certainly made Jordan Clarkson proud.

If the Philippines, by some miracle, win the OQT in Riga, expect there to be heated clamors from Filipinos for FIBA to allow the Jazz guard to suit up as a local in Paris.

Latvia falls flat

The Philippines came out of the gates ready to battle on Wednesday afternoon. They started the game on an 8-0 run, and when Latvia pulled to within five in the latter stages of the quarter, 21-16, they went on an 11-0 run to end the first quarter with a 16-point advantage.

Gilas Pilipinas was in control for the majority of the game, even taking a 21-point lead into the final quarter. The Latvians tried to mount a comeback but ran out of steam in the end and lost by nine.

Latvia simply lived and died by the three. They went 10-for-42 from beyond the arc for a frigid 23 percent, while the Philippines went 9-for-20 from deep for 45 percent.