PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — The Philippines is among the top beneficiaries of the relaxed eligibility ruling of the Southeast Asian Games.
Speaking to Daily Tribune on condition of anonymity, a ranking sports official said it was the Filipinos who suggested coming up with a more relaxed set of rules when it comes to fielding naturalized athletes in the biennial meet.
The SEA Games has its own set of rules on eligibility as it allows countries to field in as many naturalized players as they wish, a ruling which Cambodia took advantage of to the fullest.
In the Olympics and other International Basketball Federation tourneys, meanwhile, only one naturalized player is allowed.
The Cambodians took advantage of this ruling when it paraded three naturalized players in Darrin Dorsey, Brandon Peterson and Sayeed Pridgett to win the gold medal in the men’s 3×3 tournament.
A well-travelled 6-foot-2 guard, the 35-year-old Dorsey had seen action in various professional leagues in Canada, Latin America and Europe while the 6-foot-8 Peterson campaigned in FIBA club tournaments, the Basketball Champions League and West Asia League.
The 24-year-old Pridgett, for his part, is the youngest among naturalized players but he had already played for different clubs in Greece and the National Basketball Association G League team Birmingham Squadron.
Interestingly, the only local player in the Cambodia squad — Tep Chhorath — hardly saw action and went scoreless in their 20-15 victory in the gold medal match against the Philippines.
Although the development raised an outcry from players and coaches, the source clarified that it was actually the Philippines that broached up the idea of relaxing the eligibility rules during its hosting of the 30th SEA Games in 2019.
“When we were hosting the SEA Games in 2019, it was us who suggested having more lenient rules in player eligibility. As long as the player is a passport holder, he or she can play in the SEA Games,” the source said.
Fielding naturalized players is nothing new for the Filipinos.
In fact, as early as the 1980s, the Philippines had been taking advantage of the rule when basketball godfather, the late Eduardo “Danding” Cojuangco brought in a group of American players and two Filipino-American cagers in Ricardo Brown and Willie Pearson to represent the country in major international tournaments.
Among those American players who came here after being considered for naturalization were Eddie Joe Chavez, Steve Schall, Steve Lingerfelter, Bruce Collins, Jeff Moore, Dennis Still and Robert Worthy and later on, Arthur “Chip” Engelland.
The practice is still being done with Ginebra San Miguel import Justin Brownlee serving as naturalized player in the SEA Games while Jordan Clarkson is set to reinforce Gilas Pilipinas in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023.
