The Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas is open to the possibility of parading two naturalized players — Justin Brownlee and Ange Kouame — in the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou from 23 September to 8 October.
Gilas Pilipinas team manager Butch Antonio yesterday said they have to check if the Asian Games organizers — the Olympic Council of Asia — will allow teams to field two naturalized players in the men’s basketball competition.
Unlike in tournaments organized by the International Basketball Federation, the Southeast Asian Games and the Asian Games have different sets of eligibility rules.
In the previous 32nd SEA Games, host Cambodia was allowed to field multiple naturalized players, giving other teams, including the Philippines, a serious scare.
But in the Asian Games, the OCA is allowing teams to deploy only one naturalized player with Filipino-American Stanley Pringle and Filipino-German Christian Standhardinger alternating for the position in the previous edition in Jakarta in 2018.
National Basketball Association standout Jordan Clarkson, meanwhile, was allowed to play as a local player for having a Philippine passport.
OCA rules also state that naturalized players should be staying in the country they wish to represent for at least three years and have secured a passport three years before its validity.
In Brownlee’s case, his naturalization process was completed only last year although he has been playing in the Philippine Basketball Association for seven years already.
Still, Antonio said they will inquire with the Philippine Olympic Committee if the Brownlee-Kouame tandem will be possible.
“They have their own set of rules in the Asian Games,” wrote Antonio, who also represents the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas in its international affairs.
“It’s best for the Philippine Olympic Committee to interpret if Brownlee and Kouame can be allowed to play at the same time.”
The possibility of Brownlee and Koaume teaming up, however, seems remote as only one of them might be allowed to play.
Tribune tried but SBP president Al Panlilio, also the first vice president of the POC, has yet to issue a statement.
