Bennie: Pinoy in a few days

MANILA, Philippines — Gilas Pilipinas’ bid to deploy Bennie Boatwright soon, hopefully for its title defense in the coming Asian Games in Japan, received a major boost with the Senate granting the American-born sharpshooter citizenship.

Voting 13-0 in a special session yesterday, senators approved on third and final reading House Bill 6649 that made Boatwright a Filipino as well as HB 6644 for Fil-Am wrestler Matthew Ramos. Both bills had been previously approved by the House of Representatives.

From here, the legislation will be transmitted to the Office of the President for signing. If the Chief Executive fails to act, the bills will lapse into law after 30 days.

The hope is for the 6-foot-9 Boatwright’s documentations to be finalized in time for the Nationals’ campaign in the Asiad, set for Sept. 19 to Oct. 4.

Per initial reports, the continental meet’s organizing committee is implementing a passport-only requirement for participants, unlike in FIBA-sanctioned meets that limit countries to only one naturalized player.