PBA likely to frown on naturalization

If the PBA allowed each team to recruit a naturalized player, it would be easier to select a foreign cager for the national squad but the pro league may not likely subscribe to the concept mentioned by SBP executive director Noli Eala.

More wishful thinking than pushing the idea, Eala said recently choosing a foreign reinforcement for the national team would be facilitated if the PBA opened its doors to naturalized players.

“If the PBA allowed each franchise a naturalized player, there would be a pool of 10 foreigners to choose from for the national team,” said Eala.

A PBA source, however, said while the concept is exciting, it will be costly and the public may not accept the idea of players applying for wholesale naturalization.

The PBA could also be a perfect training ground for stratospheric foreign players applying for naturalization except that in the coming Fiesta Conference, the limit for imports is 6-6. Last season, there was no height limit for imports.

Even as more and more foreign players are expressing interest to naturalize, Eala said it will take at least a year before the process of adopting a new citizenship is completed under Philippine laws.

Eala said if a foreign player is chosen early next year, the procedure for naturalization will allow him to suit up for the national team only in time for the Asian Games in 2010.

NBA veteran Keith Closs, 32, heads the list of foreigners inquiring about naturalization to gain eligibility for the Philippine team. The 7-3 center’s agent is Jerome Henderson, a former PBA import with Tanduay. Also expressing interest were 7-0 Deng D’Awol of Nigeria and 6-9 Gentry Lewis of Delta State.

The latest to send an inquiry was 6-11 Terrence Gamble of Tarleton State. In 2006, Gamble led the varsity Texans to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division II tournament. He is now playing as an import in the Mexican league.

Eala said age is a critical factor in deciding which foreign player to tap. Gamble, 25, has the edge in this department because if ever the national team qualifies for the 2012 London Olympics, he’ll only be 29.

“We are not looking to short-cut the process,” said Eala. “We’ll abide by whatever is the law. Our lawyers are now looking into the steps to take. We estimate at least a year before a player is naturalized through the legislative process.”

During President Marcos’ administration, naturalization by executive decree was practiced. Two naturalized players Dennis Still and Jeff Moore suited up for the Philippine team that won the Asian Basketball Confederation (now FIBA-Asia) title in 1985. A third player Chip Engelland would’ve been eligible for the national squad in 1987 in line with the FIBA rule of three-year residency.

Naturalization by presidential decree was the same process that allowed American J. R. Holden to play for Russia in the last European Championships and Olympics. Russian president Vladimir Putin himself signed Holden’s naturalization papers.

Today, FIBA grants immediate eligibility to naturalized players but restricts a national team to only one foreigner unlike in 1985 when the limit was two.

PBA national coach Yeng Guiao said he is open to recruiting a naturalized player and even suggested bringing in two in case one gets injured. But the process of naturalization will not allow Guiao to use a foreign player for the SEABA Championships next May and the FIBA-Asia Championships in Yangzhou, China, next August.

Eala said the top two finishers of the SEABA Championships will represent the Southeast Asia sub-zone in the FIBA-Asia Championships.

Eala said Serbian coach Rajko Toroman’s developmental national team will represent the country at the Southeast Asian Games in Laos next year. The team is distinct from Guiao’s PBA selection that will play in the SEABA and FIBA-Asia Championships.