Fil-Am aces clash in NBA Finals

NBA SIDEBAR

Filipinos will not just be keen spectators in the coming NBA Finals. Filipino heritage will be well represented not just on one side, but both – in the New York Knicks’ Jordan Clarkson and the San Antonio Spurs’ Dylan Harper.

It will be a historic moment: a player of Filipino descent is guaranteed a chance to become an NBA champion.

And it’s more than symbolism. Clarkson and Harper are likely to have their matchups, with both playing guard for their teams. Veteran scorer meets rookie phenom. Gilas icon meets Spurs future.

This moment for the Philippines was clinched when the Victor Wembanyama-led San Antonio Spurs beat the OKC Thunder, 111-103, in their Game 7 winner-take-all on Saturday (yesterday in Manila) to set up a repeat of their 1999 NBA Finals with the Knicks.

Clarkson’s story is well known to Filipinos. His mother’s roots run deep to Bacoor, Cavite. He carried the Philippine flag at the 2018 Asian Games and in the 2023 World Cup, fought the NBA for the right to wear “PILIPINAS” across his chest, and walked the halls of Madison Square Garden this playoffs in a barong Tagalog.

The 6-foot-6 rookie from the Alamo is the other half of the narrative. He’s got a winning pedigree from dad Ron Harper, a champion with the Chicago Bulls and the LA Lakers. He’s got his Filipino blood from Maria Pizarro, from Bataan.

Clarkson averages 8.6 points, 1.3 rebounds, and 1.8 assists. Harper, the 2025 No. 2 pick, is norming 11.8 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 3.9 assists as one of the valuable pieces around Wembanyama.

For decades, the Philippines was the world’s most basketball-crazy nation without a real stake in the NBA’s biggest stage. Now the script flips.

When the Larry O’Brien Trophy is lifted this June, Filipino blood will be on the hands that hold it. And that is history.