Second Overtime: Jordan Clarkson has high praise for coach Yeng Guiao

CHICAGO -- Jordan Clarkson is the type who loves to live in the moment and "focus on the present," to borrow his own words.

But when PhilBoxing.com spoke to him at the United Center last Saturday night (Sunday AM Manila time), the 6-foot-6, 194-pound Cleveland Cavaliers guard allowed himself a brief glimpse of the past, specifically his participation in last August's Asian Games where he played for Gilas Pilipinas.

"It was awesome," said the five-year NBA veteran.

Clarkson, whose birth mother Annette is Filipina, also had nice words for Philippine national team head coach Yeng Guiao saying: "He was really good. He did a great job getting us prepared. We had a great time. I was happy to be a part of it."

I asked him if he had any separation anxiety from LeBron James who left Cleveland this past summer to hook up with the Los Angeles Lakers.

"No, no," he insisted. He and his teammates, who are off to a catastrophic 1-11 start, is just doing are doing the best they can to "figure things out" with life without one of the best players the NBA has ever seen. "it is what it is," added Clarkson.

With Kevin Love also out, indefinitely with a surgically-repaired foot, Jordan is currently Cleveland's leading scorer with 15.2 points per in 12 games. He is shooting 46.3 percent from the field and 30.8 percent from 3-point range.

Now in the third year of a four-year $50 million contract he signed in 2016, Clarkson earns $12.5 million this season. His game checks are $152,439 each for 82 games.

Money doesn't always make a person happy, but if you have lots of it, with it, you can at least choose your misery.

Photo: The author (R) with Jordan Clarkson in Chicago.