One of the greatest weapons a
national sports team has to make their roster formidable in international
competition, when there are rules stipulating that only a country’s citizens
can join the team, has been their respective government’s ability to naturalize
foreigners into citizens. The Philippines capitalized on naturalization to
bring in tall and talented players for teams like basketball. For example,
American NBA player Andray Blatche was invited to join Gilas Pilipinas for
their campaign in the 2014 FIBA World Cup, and Congress got to work on
legislation to naturalize him as a Filipino. The move was successful then, and
Gilas is looking to Congress for a new naturalization prospect.
Eyed to join the Philippine
national men’s basketball team is Ateneo UAAP player Angelo Kouame from the
Ivory Coast in Africa, and so the process to have him naturalized kicked off in
Congress. With the House of Representatives already passing their bill in
favor, the Senate is now looking to finish two bills to make Kouame a Filipino
according to the Philippine Star.
Senate Bills 1892 and 2058 both passed muster with the Senate Committee on
Justice and Human Rights this week. If successful, Kouame could be tapped to take
Andray Blatche’s spot in Gilas.
That much was stated by Sen.
Sonny Angara, author of Senate Bill 1892. “Andray Blatche has hit the peak of
his career,” he said in the committee panel hearing. “We need some fresh blood
and Ange Kouame really provides that.” His assessment is echoed by Gilas
interim head coach Jong Uichico, described the 6-foot-10 Ivorian Blue Eagle as
having the size, athleticism and energy to protect the rim, not to mention being
“highly coachable.” Kouame was part of the Ateneo squad when they played in the
2018 William Jones Cup in Taipei, where he helped to secure a fourth-place
finish.
While the next big challenge of
the Gilas Pilipinas, qualifying for the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup, remains in stasis
with how long the qualifiers have been put off from finishing, that should give
more time to wrap up Kouame’s naturalization process to cement his place in the
national team. Considering that his basketball experience was primarily defined
in the Philippines since playing for Ateneo, he is actually a more appropriate
naturalized player compared to Andray Blatche or Marcus Douthit. For now, the
Senate is still going into a second reading for the Ivorian’s naturalization
bills.
Image courtesy of Tiebreaker Times
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