Nothing final on Gilas draft

MANILA, Philippines – SBP deputy executive director for international affairs Butch Antonio said yesterday nothing is set in stone on involving Gilas players in the PBA draft on Oct. 30 but left the door open for those in the national pool to turn pro.

“It’s their decision,” said Antonio. “We won’t stop or influence anyone to decide one way or the other. At the moment, we are waiting for the final PBA proposal. We know there is the (Fred) Uytengsu proposal of a common draft for all players, including those in the Gilas pool and there is the proposal of a split draft where the Gilas players are in a separate group from the others. It’s their chance to be drafted and if the Gilas players want to join, they can apply. It’s up to them to do what is beneficial to their careers.”

Antonio said in anticipation of the new FIBA competition format of six home-and-away qualifying windows for the World Cup and eventually the Olympics, the SBP intends to maintain a Gilas pool of 15 to 16 players. “We’ll build it up through the years,” said Antonio. “Right now, we’re waiting for the seasons of the collegiate leagues to end so we can evaluate who are prospects for the pool. We’re also looking at the possibility of recruiting more Fil-foreigners with Philippine passports. We’re building our directory of Fil-foreigners using our network to tap our regional coordinators all over the US, Europe and other parts of the world.”

Antonio said if a Fil-foreigner has a Philippine passport but got it after turning 16, he will be eligible to play for Gilas as a naturalized citizen. Under existing FIBA rules, that is the case. It means players like Mo Tautuaa and Jordan Clarkson are immediately eligible to play without going through the legislative process of naturalization like Marcus Douthit and Andray Blatche did. A player under the SBP radar in this category is 6-7, 220-pound Fil-German Christian Standhardinger who played Division I basketball at Nebraska and Hawaii. Standhardinger, 27, is now playing with the Rasta Vechta club in the German league and will reportedly join the Gilas pool after his contract expires this year.

Antonio said the SBP is ironing out the process of sourcing Fil-foreigners. “We want to be better organized in scouting players and finding Fil-foreigners to get their Philippine passports before they turn 16,” he said. “For instance, we’re now coordinating with Metta World Peace’s son Jeron Artest through his Filipina mother Jennifer to get his Philippine passport since he’s not yet 16.”

Antonio said the SBP has the go-signal to assemble a pool of naturalized players. “Andray will always be at the top of the list but we’ll reserve him for the big events,” he said. “We’re looking at recruiting naturalized players to live in the Philippines. They’ll be resident imports. Depending on the tournaments, we’ll pick from the pool whom to play. Our mold is a four or five player, maybe at least 6-10. We’ve got enough players in the one, two and three positions who are at par with the best in Asia. We plan to recommend some names for the pool but they’ll need to go through the process of naturalization by law.”

Antonio said he’s looking for more tournaments to keep Gilas sharp. Options are an invitational Asian club tournament in November and the annual joust in Dubai in January. “We need continuous exposure to the international game,” he said. “Whether you’re in the cadet or elite program, we’re pushing for more tournaments where we engage teams that are better than us. It’s the only way to improve.”

Antonio said last Sunday afternoon, the Gilas team that played at the recent FIBA Asia Challenge in Tehran met with chief backer Manny V. Pangilinan and SBP officials.