Probe on Fil-Ams may derail Asiad bid

If ever it gets off the ground, the planned Senate inquiry on the inclusion of foreign-bred talents in the Asian Games-bound national basketball team could deal a severe blow to the country’s ambitious and yet determined bid to win the Asiad gold.

Although the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) yesterday said it would welcome any probe on the status of Fil-foreign players in the league, the Senate inquiry would seriously impair the timetable set by the national team bound for Busan, South Korea, in September.

Sen. Robert Barbers, chairman of the Senate Committee on games, amusements and sports, is reportedly set to question the formation of the Asian Games squad in the sense that Fil-foreign players are being favored over pure local talents.

League sources said Filipino players sought the help of Sen. Barbers regarding the issue, with players from at least two teams – FedEx and Purefoods – having affixed their signatures on the plan which, they hope, could also minimize the future entry of more Fil-foreign players in the PBA.

"We welcome the investigation or probe if there’s going to be one. So, if there are players masquerading as Fil-Ams or whatever, then we can stop them," said the PBA through media liason officer Musong Castillo.

The PBA also stressed that it has followed the proper procedure in bringing in Fil-foreign players into the league or even national team, maintaining that these players have secured clearances from the Department of Justice even before they were named to the national training pool.

Three players who joined the tryouts last December were denied the chance to represent the Philippines in the Asian Games after they failed to get the DOJ nod. Among them were Chris Clay and Jeffrey Flowers of the MBA, and Mike Cortez of La Salle.

"We’re not looking at these players as simply Fil-foreign players. They are Filipinos. They’ve been cleared by the DOJ and therefore, they enjoy the right of every other Filipino next door.

"Whether you’re a Fil-American, Fil-Tongan, Fil-Japanese or whatever, you cannot play in the PBA, much more represent the country in international competitions, if you’re not cleared by the DOJ," Castillo said.

Twelve of the 27 players in the national training pool are foreign-bred. They are Asi Taulava, Eric Menk, Rudy Hatfield, Andy and Danny Seigle, Davonn Harp, Mick Pennisi, Ali Peek, Raffy Reavies, Chris Jackson, Noy Castillo and Jimmy Alapag.

"It’s not supposed to be the personality of the player but his talent. Twelve of the 27 remaining hopefuls are Fil-foreign players but there will be homegrown talents that are also shoo-ins for the national team," He said.

The PBA also clarified that Alaska’s Don Allado and Ginebra’s Mark Caguioa and Jay Jay Helterbrand were never considered Fil-Americans and that they never needed any clearance from the DOJ because they are Filipinos.

"They’re not Fil-Ams. It just so happened that they were raised in the US or have stayed there for a long time," He explained.