Naturalized pool a necessity

It’s no accident that the Philippine team playing at the FIBA Asia Challenge in Tehran on Sept. 9-18 will battle without a naturalized import. Andray Blatche isn’t available as he’s busy trying to get back into the NBA. Marcus Douthit could’ve been recalled but the Gilas vision for the future is to go young so the 36-year-old veteran isn’t a fit.

With FIBA rearranging the competition system to qualify for the World Cup and the Olympics starting next year, it will be more and more difficult for countries to pick up naturalized players unless they’re committed for the long haul. If they’re NBA players or imports in other leagues, their commitments will be divided particularly as the FIBA system will involve six home-and-away windows over a two-year period. If Blatche makes it back to the NBA, he’ll be available for Gilas only when the majors aren’t in season or once his team is out of the playoffs.

If the plan is to continue with the naturalization program, Gilas must seriously consider creating a pool from which to rotate players for the six home-and-away windows. In the Philippine scheme of things, keeping Blatche as the only naturalized player may not be a long-term solution. If Blatche returns to the NBA or if he gets injured, heaven forbid, then Gilas is out on a limb.

Creating a pool will mean gaining the support of the House of Representatives and Congress. It will be a legal process as naturalization is bestowed only by law. That’s how Douthit and Blatche got their Filipino papers. It will be the same for future naturalized players. The pool has become a necessity to cover for injuries and conflict in schedules.

SBP president Al Panlilio said recently that players with NBA contracts are constrained from making themselves available for the six home-and-away windows. “It’s almost impossible for Andray to join us in every window particularly as now, he’s trying to get back into the NBA,” he said. “Perhaps, we could recruit an import like Mahindra’s James White. He’s tall (6-8 1/8), young (23) and versatile.  It’s something we should think about.”

Asked if he would consider playing for the Philippines as a naturalized import, White replied without hesitation. “If I’m asked and I haven’t been asked, I’d consider it a blessing,” he said. “Yes, I would play for the Philippines.” A Mahindra team official confided that a Gilas source has contacted Enforcers consultant Joe Lipa on the possibility but it appears nothing has come of the inquiry. If White agrees, he shouldn’t be the only one in the pool.

The other possibility is to lobby for the recognition of dual citizens to play for a country of their choice in FIBA competitions without the restriction of showing a passport that was issued before turning 16. Perhaps, there could be another way to prove heritage or lineage.

At the recent Rio Olympics, Argentina’s basketball team listed four players who are dual citizens. Manu Ginobili, Andres Nocioni, Carlos Delfino and Leo Mainoldi all carry Argentine and Italian passports. Were they issued passports before they turned 16?

Venezuela had two dual citizens. One was 6-5 John Cox, born in Caracas to American parents. His father Chubby, who played for Washington in the NBA in 1983, was an import in Venezuela when he was born. His father’s sister Pam is married to former NBA player Joe (Jellybean) Bryant and their son is Kobe. John Cox and Kobe Bryant are first cousins. John Cox played four years at the University of San Francisco and has no Venezuelan bloodline. Another American-Venezuelan who played in Rio was Dwight Lewis from the University of Southern California.

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Globalization has obviously made the basketball world even smaller which isn’t a bad thing. Because of this trend, it now becomes irrelevant for FIBA to apply the rule of a dual or even triple citizen to qualify as a local player only if he or she was issued a passport of the country he or she plans to play for before turning 16. In the case of Nigeria, you wonder if the national team’s 11 US-born players who played in Rio were issued Nigerian passports before they turned 16.

As for the Gilas team playing in Tehran, three of the original 24 players in the pool weren’t available from the start. Kiefer Ravena is in the US undergoing training for a possible shot at the NBA. Bobby Ray Parks is also in the US to pursue his NBA dream. Even if they don’t make it to the NBA, both players won’t be back until after the Tehran tournament. Another player who was scratched from the lineup was Poy Erram who suffered an ACL injury in a Blackwater game against TNT KaTropa recently.

“Poy was in line for the Most Improved Player award this season,” said Blackwater team owner Dioceldo Sy. “He would’ve made a difference with Gilas.” Erram will be out of action for at least six months to recover from surgery.

The 12 players in the Gilas lineup for Tehran are 6-4 Mac Belo, 6-4 Kevin Ferrer, 5-11 Mike Tolomia, 6-3 Roger Pogoy, 6-6 Russell Escoto, 6-0 Ed Daquioag, 6-8 Arnold Van Opstal, 6-1 C. J. Perez, 6-5 Chris Javier, 6-3 Carl Cruz, 6-2 Von Pessumal and 6-6 Fonzo Gotladera. Reserves are 5-10 Almond Vosotros and 6-2 Jonathan Grey. Arellano’s 5-9 Jiovani Jalalon withdrew because of ongoing commitments in the NCAA. Others who weren’t named were Alvin Abundo, Yutien Andrada, Kemark Carino, Matt Ganuelas Rosser (with TNT KaTropa in the PBA), Arvin Tolentino and Matthew Wright.