Gilas Pilipinas Beat Kazakhstan in 2018 Asian Games Without Jordan Clarkson

The Philippines' men's national basketball team will receive a boost when Jordan Clarkson suits up for the 2018 Asian Games, but it didn't need the Cleveland Cavaliers guard Thursday when it handled Kazakhstan with ease in a 96-59 victory at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Stanley Pringle led his team with 18 points, but it was the defensive effort that stood out. Kazakhstan finished with a head-turning 22 turnovers against the defensive pressure, per ABS-CBN News, and was never able to establish an offensive rhythm as it fell further behind.

The ABS-CBN News report called the Philippines "a virtual lock" to advance out of the group stage after its opening win considering two of the three teams per group make it to the next round.

Clarkson will take the court Tuesday against China, looking to help lead the Philippines to an Asian Games championship before the 2018-19 NBA season begins for a Cleveland team now without LeBron James.