Who is Kouame’s backup?

When Gilas naturalized player Ange Kouame went down with a meniscal sprain and a partial ACL tear to miss the national team’s two friendlies in Korea last week, interim head coach Nenad Vucinic had no backup to turn to. It was a similar case at the recent SEA Games where Kouame couldn’t suit up because he was in the middle of UAAP action.

In the SEA Games, coach Chot Reyes could choose Kouame’s replacement from any of the Fil-foreigners in the PBA with Filipino passports but recognized only as “naturalized” by FIBA, meaning not as locals because their travel documents were issued after they turned 16. In Hanoi, SEA Games organizers followed FIBA eligibility rules. Reyes picked San Miguel Beer’s Mo Tautuaa for the job.

For the Korea friendlies, Vucinic had no luxury of picking an instant replacement as the PBA season had just started. So he went to Anyang with only 10 players as Kouame and Dave lldefonso stayed home to recover from injuries. A medical report later said Kouame would not require surgery, only physical therapy and strengthening.

The lack of a “naturalized” backup is a serious concern. If the plan is to enlist Kouame for the 2023 FIBA World Cup or the next Asian and SEA Games, there must be an insurance policy. If Kouame goes down again, who’ll take his place? Tautuaa? Christian Standhardinger? Will the PBA players be readily available to step in? It’s possible that SBP will bring in Jordan Clarkson as Gilas’ naturalized player for the World Cup because FIBA isn’t likely to recognize him as a local despite his Filipino heritage. If Clarkson joins, Kouame becomes the backup. It’s not a far-fetched idea to enlist Clarkson as a naturalized player at his height of 6-4 because Gilas is expected to be beefed up by bigs like JuneMar Fajardo, Japeth Aguilar and Kai Sotto.

The problem is Clarkson will probably be available only for the World Cup. So that raises the question of finding a backup for Kouame in other competitions. Barangay Ginebra import Justin Brownlee said he’ll play for Gilas in a heartbeat but that requires his naturalization. Former San Miguel Beer import Chris McCullough, now playing in the P.League+ of Taiwan, has volunteered to be naturalized. But under Philippine law, naturalization is a process that requires approval from the Senate and House so it’s not an overnight transformation unlike in other countries. If it needs to be done, then the process should’ve started yesterday. A bill on Brownlee’s naturalization was actually filed a few years ago but it was stalled when the pandemic struck. Brownlee had to be physically present to attend the Senate and House hearings but wasn’t in town during the height of the virus surge. He’s been back since so it shouldn’t be difficult to account for his presence when required.

In Japan, there’s no shortage of naturalized players in the pool for the national team. The list includes Nick Fazekas, Ryan Rossiter, Gavin Edwards, Ira Brown, Michael Parker, You Tenyoku, Tenketsu Harimoto, Edward Morris, Thomas Kennedy and Nyika Williams. Previous naturalized players were JR Henderson, Dan Weiss and Eric McArthur. SBP isn’t expected to form a pool as large as Japan’s but surely, one backup for Kouame is an imperative.