Fil-Ams’ fate hangs in balance

The deadline for three Fil-Am draft applicants to submit their citizenship documents, processed by the Bureau of Immigration (BI) and confirmed by the Department of Justice (DOJ), fell at the end of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) office hours last Monday.

Sources said none of the three was able to beat the deadline but their agents promised to comply with the PB¹A’s eligibility requirements before the draft on Aug. 20 at Market! Market! in the Fort.

It’s not certain if PBA commissioner Noli Eala will agree to an extension. But under the circumstances, he probably should.

The Fil-Ams are 6-5 Kelly Williams, 6-7 Joe Devance and 6-6 Robbie Reyes.

A source said Williams’ lawyer filed a letter notifying the PBA of the DOJ’s confirmation last Monday but said the papers won’t be released until after a week. That means Williams has been certified as a Filipino citizen, making him eligible for the draft.

The problem is Williams’ application could be shot down by a technicality. But in keeping with the spirit of the law, Williams—for all intents and purposes—should be cleared for the draft.

Williams’ Filipino lineage is beyond doubt. National coach Chot Reyes himself met Williams’ mother Andrea Mata of Cebu when he scouted the 6-5 leaper, one of three children, from Oakland University in Michigan.

Williams’ full-blooded Filipina mother works as a home health care consultant.

Williams’ alma mater is an NCAA Division I school. He played four years for Oakland University, a contender in the Mid-Continent Conference under coach Greg Kampe.

College basketball writer Sean Hayden described Williams as "a solid defender (who) brings a fire off the bench." Kampe said Williams "is an athlete who can rebound and play D—he’s probably our top inside defender and he can shoot it, he’s the kind of kid who is really the glue to the team."

As a junior in 2002-03, Williams averaged 3.8 points and 3.4 rebounds. The next season, he finished his varsity eligibility, averaging 5.7 points and 3.8 rebounds.

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Devance’s agent Loy Allado appealed to the PBA to grant an extension for humanitarian reasons.

"The BI summoned Joe’s mother to make a personal appearance in Manila but she couldn’t leave the US," explained the Los Angeles-based Allado, whose son Don plays for Talk ‘N’ Text, in a long distance telephone call yesterday. "She has a leak in a valve in her heart and she’s scheduled for open heart surgery on Friday. Joe is her only son and he wants to be with her."

Allado said the BI asked to inspect Devance’s US passport and he could only send it the other day.

To facilitate the process, Devance issued a special power of attorney naming lawyer Jose Allado, who lives in Manila, to appear in his behalf before the BI.

Allado said Devance’s papers are in order and should be confirmed by the DOJ within two weeks.

Like Williams, the Hawaii-born Devance played for an NCAA Division I school, the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). He averaged 27 points, 14 rebounds, 4.5 blocked shots and two steals as a senior at Burgess High School in 2000-01.

UTEP coach Jason Rabedeaux said Devance played a key role for the Miners who were featured in the movie "Glory Road" when they won the NCAA championship for Texas Western in 1966. Texas Western is now known as UTEP.

"Joe can score not only from in close but he can defend and rebound," said Rabedeaux. "That’s very important for us."

Devance was the MVP in the Philippine Basketball League (PBL) last conference.

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Then there’s Robbie Reyes whose uncle Eric played 11 seasons in the PBA. Eric’s brother Ed is Reyes’ father. Reyes’ mother is Maria Balch. He was born in Florida and often visits here. Reyes even enrolled a year at La Salle Green Hills.

Reyes saw action for Flagler College, a National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) contender in Florida. He played the last two PBL conferences for Harbour Centre.

Reyes’ agent Charlie Dy has also appealed to the PBA for consideration and more time to submit the necessary naturalization papers.

Reyes went back to the US after the last PBL conference and returned last Monday.

"It’s always been Robbie’s dream to play in the PBA," said his uncle Eric. "I remember he watched me play for Ateneo in a UAAP season opener against National University many years ago. He was in Manila for a visit with his twin brother Eddie. He saw what I went through to make it to the PBA and he’s determined to do the same. He’s worked very hard to get to where he is. He has a passion for the game."

Eric said because of Reyes’ obvious Filipino lineage, Dy is hoping the center-forward will be included in the coming draft but will only play when his citizenship papers are turned in.

"I can certainly vouch for my nephew and testify that he’s a legitimate Fil-Am but rules are rules," said Eric. "We will respect whatever is the Commissioner’s decision on the Fil-Am applicants."

Gathering documents from the US to substantiate Reyes’ claim for Filipino citizenship has been a tedious exercise and Eric said it’s a major cause of delay. But the Fil-Am hopeful is back in town to make himself available for whatever investigation or questioning is required by the BI and DOJ.

Will the PBA be flexible and allow the three Fil-Ams to be drafted? Perhaps, a solution may be to include them in the draft pool with the stipulation that they will not be able to play until their citizenship papers are cleared by the BI and DOJ.

Surely, there is justifiable reason to extend the deadline for the three Fil-Ams since after all, their papers are now in process and confirmation is just a matter of time.