Let foreign students play

College basketball season is over, but the discussion over foreign student-athletes is not. The question of how long they should be allowed to play is up in the air, and there seems to be some indecision on extending their eligibility. Frankly, this writer finds it hard to understand the debate outside of Philippine basketball culture, which sometimes rewards inefficiency by punishing success. The excuses for limiting the exposure of foreign athletes is getting thinner and thinner.

The main contention is that having foreign players somehow takes away playing time and therefore development from homegrown talent. Well, if they need outside help to keep them on the roster, then perhaps “local talent” is a misnomer. Instead of coddling them for their inability to keep up, we should challenge them to get stronger, shoot well, defend better. Besides, it is a hypothetical question. We are talking about the possibility of it actually taking a roster spot from a supposedly deserving local player. So in effect, we are changing the rules of an entire league over a handful of also-ran athletes who may not deserve their scholarships, after all. 

Having a winning program with a strong foreign player, be it in basketball or any other sport, is the reward for good scouting and recruitment. Developing a great athletic program within the rules is not unpatriotic. It is the opposite. The institution is putting its sports teams in a position to win, and that is the whole point. Now, if the rules were changed or the foreign player in question were actually overaged, then that would be a different discussion altogether. But sometimes, we have an attitude of pulling other people down when we can’t do what they do, when we cannot achieve the same accomplishments.

A lot of this started when San Beda was able to recruit Sam Ekwe. The 6’8” African was not really a talented basketball player in his rookie year in NCAA Season 82, but he was very athletic, and willing to learn. In his first year, he could hardly dribble to save his life. By the time he graduated, he had a consistent medium-range jump shot and some ballhandling. That is also a testament to the training he received while playing. It also riled up other schools when his formidable shot-blocking and rebounding helped break a 28-year title drought in seniors basketball for the Red Lions, who launched them to nine championships in 11 seasons. Since then, recruiting African reinforcements have more or less become the norm in college basketball, not just in Metro Manila, but also in other places like Cebu.

In a conversation with PBA commissioner Chito Narvasa, he explained how the league has streamlined the implementation of the rules to give full benefit to the offensive player. They have also stiffened penalties on players who constantly play the enforcer and physically hurt their opponents. Gone are the days when goons patrolled the courts on the instructions of coaches to stop opposing scorers at all costs. That culture was rewarding mediocrity, Narvasa says.

“It is unfair for the talented players who have worked hard on developing their skills to be sidelined by players who hurt them,” said Narvasa, who played on the Philippine team and Ateneo Blue Eagles in the late 1970’s. “The players have to adapt. They can’t go on hurting other players anymore. They have to get better.”

That is the whole point. How can we argue that foreign student-athletes are better on one hand, then have them defended by homegrown players on the other? That seems a bit hypocritical. If they are properly enrolled, study and attend practice, then the only differences between them and every other player are the color of their skin and the flag on their passport. If schools could find a June Mar Fajardo or a Japeth Aguilar who can hold their own against anybody, then forcing limitations on foreign players is a not-so-subtle admission that other schools can’t do it. That’s sour-graping, isn’t it?

In Australia’s professional league, imports are role players, point guards or power forwards who fill a specific need on the team. In the Philippines, college imports are somewhere between them and the do-it-all imports of the PBA. The remedy is not to restrict foreign players because only some schools get good ones. It may be to help the other schools get more competitive in that direction, but they have to choose to do so. There was a time when the PBL had a showcase scrimmage involving all their imports, and the teams each got to pick from those playing. That may not be entirely feasible in a college setting, but maybe a joint recruitment or agent could help everybody find a suitable reinforcement.

I have always been for the Filipino athlete. But I think we are all also for the Filipino athlete getting better. And competing against taller foreign student-athletes will do that.