By Leonel Abasola
MANILA – Senator Francis Pangilinan on Thursday said the Philippines Men Basketball Team, popularly known as Gilas Pilipinas, will soon get a needed boost as the measure seeking to grant Filipino citizenship to American basketball player Bennie Boatwright passed second reading in the Senate on Tuesday.
In a statement, Pangilinan said granting Boatwright Filipino citizenship will pave the way for him to join Gilas Pilipinas and improve the competitiveness of the Philippine basketball team in the Asian Games and the FIBA Games.
Pangilinan said the 6’10” Boatwright will give Gilas Pilipinas a height advantage and would make the team more competitive, given that neighboring countries also have a pool of naturalized players in their roster.
Based on records, Indonesia and Lebanon each have five naturalized players, while Japan has 12. The Philippines currently has six naturalized basketball players.
“So, this gives us a sense of the competition out there in terms of naturalized players of their respective countries mentioned. And that’s why we do have this pool of players, it will then give our coaches more flexibility and leeway in terms of being able to put together a strong team,” he said.
He added alleviated concerns regarding the athlete’s allegiance to the country, saying that these were thoroughly discussed during the committee hearings on the pending measure.
Pangilinan said contributions to winning championships in the games were not the only determinant for naturalizing athletes seeking to make the Philippines their home.
“We made sure, through our questions, to determine his willingness to embrace Filipino culture, to settle down in the Philippines, and whether he associated himself with Filipinos and Filipino-Americans while in the US,” he said.
“We made this clear during the hearings. There has to be not simply a commitment to play basketball for the country, but also to embrace what it means to be Filipino.” (PNA)
