By REYNALD MAGALLON
Gilas Pilipinas head coach Chot Reyes revealed that Ginebra resident reinforcement Justin Brownlee and TNT incoming Commissioner’s Cup import Cameron Oliver are being considered as candidates for naturalization during the hearing of the Senate Committee on Sports, Monday, Sept. 12.
The Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas had formally asked the help of the Senate for the naturalization process of the two, who according to the Gilas head coach, have already committed to be part of the national team program.
While NBA star Jordan Clarkson will take the lone spot as the team’s naturalized player for the World Cup, Reyes added that the addition of these players to the national team’s pool of reinforcements will be a big help for Gilas especially during the tournaments where the Utah Jazz guard won’t be available due to the NBA season.
Aside from the World Cup, SBP President Al S. Panlilio also stated during the hearing that the national team is also preparing for two more windows of the FIBA World Cup Asian qualifiers, the Southeast Asian Games and the Asian Games next year.
“We have two names po. At the time na wala si Jordan Clarkson, gusto natin na lumalaban pa rin po tayo na malakas ang team. Example sa May sa SEA Games if we have Justin Bronwlee tingin ko malaki yung pagasa natin to reclaim the gold medal kasi mga kalaban natin ang mga naturalized players mga NBA players,” said Reyes.
“Justin Brownlee and Cameron Oliver, a 6-foot-eight/six-foot-nine player, they are already willing and hopefully, they can complete. Ang alam namin si Brownlee, kumpleto na ang papers. Cameron Oliver is in the process of completing all the requirements for naturalization,” added the veteran mentor.
It can be recalled that Brownlee, who has been in the country numerous times as import to Ginebra, has been a candidate for naturalization as early as 2018 and a bill was actually already filed in the Congress although it didn’t materialize.
On the other hand, Oliver is set to play in the PBA for the first time in the Commissioner’s Cup. He is a former NBA player with recent stints with Houston Rockets and Atlanta Hawks on top of several tours of duty with other international leagues like the G.League, and Australia NBL.
Should plans push through, the two will join Ateneo center Ange Kouame, who had recently recovered from a knee injury, as part of the national team’s pool of naturalized players.
