Board breaker eyed for RP five campaign

A 6-foot-10, 260-pound center that once shattered a backboard with a monstrous dunk is being considered by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas for naturalization.

Noli Eala, SBP executive director, said he has already communicated with Terrence Gamble, a product of the Tarleton State University in Stephenville, Texas recently.

“I sent him an e-mail two weeks ago and he already responded by asking about our offer. But we couldn’t make any until we see him in action or we get a commitment,” Eala said.

“First, is he willing to be naturalized? And will he be available to us for the next three to four years? Because if he gets naturalized, he’d be the staple of our team and he should be in each tournament we compete in.”

The SBP headed by Manny V. Pangilinan is forming a young, talented team that will carry the fight for the Philippines in future international competitions, the major goal being the 2012 London Olympics

Gamble averaged 9.0 points and 6.6 rebounds per game in two seasons for the Tarleton Texans, and in his last year led the team to a 25-7 record and a slot to the NCAA Division II South Central finals.

But just recently, he signed up with the Santos Reales de San Luis in the Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional (LNBP) in Mexico, and has led his new team to a 2-0 record.

He became the 19th player out of Tarleton to play professionally.

The LNBP is the top pro league in Latin America, one where former NBA players like Jamario Moon (Toronto), Horacio Llamas (Phoenix), Carlos Arroyo (Detroit) and Dennis Rodman (Chicago) have played.

In his first practice session with Santos Reales, Gamble shattered the backboard as he quickly made his presence felt. A report said “the board came down quickly into pieces” after Gamble slammed the ball into the hoop.

Eala said the SBP is serious in pursuing Gamble and in fact he said they already have an idea “how much to spend or how much it would take to buy his contract out of the LNBP.”

Eala did not say how much they could offer a player for naturalization.

Eala said there are three ways to naturalize a player – administrative, judicial and legislative. But since the first two options require a 10-year residency, then the third one is the only option left.

“The only track we can follow now is the legislative – a legislative act meaning that it must be sponsored. If we find somebody only then that we will ask for a sponsor

I told coach (Rajko) Toroman to find somebody to naturalize by the first quarter of next year so that we can begin the process and by the Asian Games in 2010 he’d be naturalized,” Eala added.

In case the gamble on Gamble doesn’t pay off, Eala said they’re still tracking down a few more players. Helping them out is Jim Kelley who was tapped as SBP’s international scouting director.

Caloy Allado will cover the scoring in the West Coast in the US while Larry Albano will take care of the East Coast and Canada.