FIBA cracks down on ineligibles

MANILA, Philippines – A FIBA initiative to strictly impose the provision requiring players with the birth right of dual citizenship to claim two nationalities before turning 16 may adversely affect the eligibility of future Fil-foreigners in the Philippine basketball team, said Smart Gilas team manager Butch Antonio recently.

“It’s collateral damage for the Philippines because FIBA wants to crack down on instant citizens becoming national players in other countries,” said Antonio. “There appear to be suspicious cases in Africa, the Middle East and South America. In our case, we can prove the birth right of dual citizenship of our Fil-foreigners. The problem is with the strict enforcement of the FIBA rule, we’ll have to establish two nationalities of Fil-foreigners who are prospective national players before they turn 16. It’s a prospective rule, not retroactive, so our current players like Marcio (Lassiter) and Kelly (Williams) aren’t affected. But future prospects like Chris Banchero and Stanley Pringle may not be eligible unless they filed for dual citizenship before they turned 16.”

Antonio cited Rule 21.a. in Chapter 1 of Book 3 of the FIBA rules as saying: “A national team participating in a competition of FIBA may have only one player on its team who has acquired the legal nationality of that country by naturalization or by any other means after having reached the age of 16. This provision applies to any player having the right to acquire a second nationality at birth but who did not lay claim to this right until after having reached the age of 16.”

Under the FIBA rule, Smart Gilas will be allowed to play only one naturalized player, in the current lineup Marcus Douthit, and no other future Fil-foreigner who may have chosen two citizenships after turning 16.

Antonio said Philippine laws allow a Fil-foreigner to claim two nationalities even after turning 16 and his human right to enjoy the privileges of a Filipino citizen, such as eligibility to represent the country in a sporting event, must be respected. However, Antonio said the issue will not be debated until the timing is right.

Meanwhile, Antonio said the Philippines is fortifying its bid to host the FIBA-Asia Championships next year. SBP executive director Sonny Barrios has informed the FIBA-Asia Central Board of the Philippines’ interest and preparedness to host the regional qualifiers for the FIBA 2014 World Championships. The top three finishers of the FIBA-Asia joust will represent Asia in the 24-nation World Championships in Spain.

“Mr. Barrios has attended hosting seminars conducted by FIBA in Geneva,” said Antonio. “He is in close contact with FIBA officials both in Geneva and the FIBA-Asia headquarters. Mr. Barrios is spearheading our campaign with all-out support from SBP president Manny V. Pangilinan and vice chairman Ricky Vargas.”

How the recent change in leadership in FIBA-Asia with the retirement of Dato Yeoh Choo Hock of Malaysia and installation of Hagop Khajirian of Lebanon as secretary-general will affect the Philippines’ bid is not certain.

The Philippines has not hosted the FIBA-Asia Championships, previously known as the Asian Basketball Confederation Championships, since 1973. Its only other hosting was in 1960. China, Lebanon, Qatar and Iran are reportedly keen on hosting the tournament. A perennial host because of superior resources, China has staged the FIBA-Asia Championships in four of the last six competitions, including the last two in Tianjin in 2009 and Wuhan last year. There have been 19 hosts since Manila had its last turn in 1973.

Antonio said Smart Gilas coach Chot Reyes will call a meeting of the players named to the national pool shortly after the PBA Commissioner’s Cup finals. Reyes has named 16 players to the pool and Antonio said it could increase to 25 to 30 including the cadet or non-pro picks. Antonio said the plan is for Smart Gilas to play at the Jones Cup in Taipei in August and the Stankovic Cup in Tokyo in September.

Spain got the nod over Italy on a vote of 11-8 in the final tally to decide the World Championships host. Spain will use venues in Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao, Sevilla, Granada and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria to play the games. France, Denmark, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Greece and China were others that bid for the hosting rights. China was the first country to be eliminated in the selection process.