One notable facet of organized
competitive basketball in the Philippines, from the collegiate leagues to the
pros in the PBA, is the prominence of “imports,” foreigner players signed on to
teams for a season or two to bolster their manpower against opposing squads.
While celebrated at times for helping favored teams to many victories, imports
also get perceived as crutches at best, or statistical hogs at worst. A member
of the 18th Congress would go so far as to say that over-reliance on
imports may have led to the humiliation of Gilas Pilipinas at the recent FIBA
Basketball World Cup, and is pushing for prohibiting them at the collegiate
level.
The Philippine Star has it that Deputy House Speaker Mikee Romero
of 1 Pacman Partylist has filed a bill this week to ban in collegiate school
leagues the time-honored practice of recruiting non-Filipino imports,
particularly via offering them athletic scholarships in their institutions.
Rep. Romero notes that collegiate imports tend to focus all gameplay tactics to
themselves, with homegrown Filipino players tending to become solely support to
their offensive and defensive uses. Such a state robs actual Filipino college
athletes from getting sufficient playing experience they need to take their
games to pros and beyond.
Romero’s House Resolution No.
388, filed September 30, calls for the House of Representatives to pass
legislation “to stop and prohibit all collegiate leagues from recruiting,
acquiring and using non-Filipinos as players because in effect, it stops the
growth and shortchanges the development of various sports programs in the
Philippines.” Against possible accusations that he is a “killjoy” in
de-escalating intense collegiate play by removing imports, Romero points out
that universities and colleges with money to spare can count on getting the
best foreign talent they could, which is unfair to other schools and could lead
to the “destruction of the game” via unfair advantages.
Again, Mikee Romero points to the
last-place finish of Gilas Pilipinas as a harsh lesson in what happens to
Filipino basketball players that have depended too much on imports, with some
players hailing from import-heavy collegiate and PBA teams. He also notes how
many foreigners, especially African basketball players, exploit academic
scholarships to simply flit from one league to another, selling their skills
and services to desperate competitive teams. “Acquiring foreigners is not only
counter-productive but is also more expensive to maintain a team,” says Romero
adding, “Not to be greedy, but our fellow Filipinos are the greatest victims
here.
Romero is an alumnus and former
player of La Salle University and formed the pre-Gilas Philippine team that won
gold for the country in the 2007 SEA Games in Thailand. He is also owner of PBA
team NorthPort Batang Pier.
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