BY ABBY TORALBA
NBA forward Kyle Anderson of the Minnesota Timberwolves, playing as Li Kaier for China, is looking to make one last push in their match against Gilas Pilipinas.
“It feels great. Obviously, it’s been a little bit of a tough road, but we’ve been working hard,” the naturalized Chinese, who tallied 17 points, seven boards and four assists, said yesterday.
“So, I think our guys deserve this. It’s a great win. I think our fans deserve it as well,” he added.
The Chinese squad hurdled Angola 83-76 in Group M of the classification round at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
With the win, China kept alive its chance of becoming the top Asian team for a spot in the Paris Olympics next year.
Team Dragon clashes with Gilas Pilipinas tomorrow, Saturday, at the Big Dome.
“It’s gonna be a good game. They (Philippines) got some good players. I watched them the whole tournament. They’re the home team so they have the crowd on their side. It’s (going to be) an awesome environment. Very fun,” Kaier said.
Kaier and Gilas naturalized star Jordan Clarkson played against each other during their collegiate days in the US NCAA Division I for UCLA and University of Missouri, respectively.
“I like those types of games and they have a really good player in Jordan Clarkson who I happened to play (with) since college so it’s always fun to go up against him,” Kaier said.
“We’re looking at (it). We’re taking it one step at a time right now. We’re focused on what we’re gonna do with the Philippines. We’ll look at that picture in a little bit.”
