Absence of naturalized players in Gilas' Asian Games roster questioned in Senate
MANILA, Philippines — Gilas Pilipinas' early elimination from the 2026 Asian Games has prompted questions in the Senate over the absence and availability of the national men's basketball team's naturalized players.
During the Senate session on Tuesday, September 15, lawmakers questioned why naturalized players were unavailable after the defending champions failed to advance past the group stage in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan.
Sen. Bong Go, chair of the Senate sports committee, specifically pointed to the absence of naturalized basketball player Bennie Boatwright.
“Sabi ko, nasaan na yung naturalized player natin na minadali nga nating ipinasa rito sponsored by Sen. Kiko Pangilinan. In fact, isa pa nga yon sa reason na nagpatawag ng special session dito sa Senado. Pero nagtataka po tayo kung bakit hindi po naihabol…Nakakalungkot po, sayang,” Go said.
(I said, where is our naturalized player that we actually rushed to pass here, sponsored by Sen. Kiko Pangilinan? In fact, that was one of the reasons a special session was called here in the Senate. But we are wondering why he wasn't able to make it in time... It's sad, such a waste.)
Go noted that the Senate had expedited Boatwright's naturalization process during a special session in an effort to ensure his eligibility for national team duty.
“Nasaan na yung ibang mga naturalized players na ipinasa natin dito na sana makakatulong dahil sila yung malalaki at maaaring makatulong sa atin sa rebound. Isa po ito sa titingnan natin, Mr. President kung sakaling magdinig tayo rito sa Senado. What went wrong? Ano pong nangyari sa mga naturalized players natin na maaaring magamit natin? Dahil ginawa po natin ang trabaho natin dito na maipasa rin po ito,” Go said.
(Where are the other naturalized players we passed here who could have helped because they are big and could assist us with rebounds? This is one of the things we will look into, Mr. President, if ever we hold a hearing here in the Senate. What went wrong? What happened to our naturalized players whom we could have utilized? Because we did our job here to pass them.)
Delays
Boatwright's naturalization measure was approved by Congress during a special Senate session on June 17, which President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. called for after a boycott of Senate sessions in June led by the Cayetano bloc, of which Go is a member.
The naturalization measure later lapsed to become Republic Act 12323 on August 30 after President Marcos neither signed nor vetoed it within the constitutional period.
According to Gilas Head Coach Tim Cone, Boatwright was yet to have a Philippine passport and was unable to secure the necessary documents in time to join Gilas for the Asian Games.
Go's remarks came following the loss of Gilas against China by 44 points.
Gilas, the defending champion of the Asian Games, failed to reach the quarterfinal round after suffering a lopsided match against China, 105-61.
This is the first time in the program’s history that the Philippines missed the Asian Games quarterfinals.
The early exit comes three years after the then Justin Brownlee-led squad secured the country's first Asiad hoops gold in 61 years.
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