Jeron hopes for a passport

Former NBA star Metta World Peace’s Fil-Am son Jeron Artest wants a Philippine passport so he can represent the country in international competitions and his Filipina mother Jennifer Palma is asking for assistance to make it happen.

Artest is now 18 so he’s past the FIBA cut-off of 16 to gain recognition as a foreign-born native. When Artest visited Manila in 2015, he was told of the FIBA eligibility rule and his mother went to the Philippine Consulate in New York City to apply for his passport before he turned 16. She couldn’t get it done.

“The SBP reached out and advised Jeron to get a Philippine passport before turning 16 which is what we tried to do,” said Palma in an interview at the Conrad Manila Hotel last Sunday. “But since I was born in Chicago, I was told by the Consulate staff to go to Chicago. The SBP never got back to us. I was hoping someone could help us because Jeron really wants to play for the Philippines. It’s something even his Dad wants him to do.”

Jeron said it would be “awesome” if he could wear the Philippine colors. He was recently in town for nearly two weeks to participate in the NBTC tournament and wondered if there was still time to join the Philippine team at the FIBA U19 World Cup in Heraklion, Greece, on June 29-July 7. His mother said if only Jeron could get his Philippine passport, maybe he could be a late addition to the pool, if not as a local, as a naturalized player.

At the moment, Jeron is a graduating student at Bella Vista K-12 Prep School in Scottsdale, Arizona. He has received firm scholarship offers from Metta’s alma mater St. John’s, Wyoming and Tennessee at Martin, all NCAA Division I schools. There is also interest from Cal State Irvine, Colorado State, Princeton, Stanford and others.

Metta said it’s Jeron’s decision where to enroll for college. He won’t influence him in any way. “It’s his choice and I’ll support whatever he decides,” said Metta who played two years at St. John’s before turning pro. Metta played for Chicago, Indiana, Sacramento, Houston, New York and the Los Angeles Lakers in 17 NBA seasons, earning at least $77 Million throughout his career.

“My preference is a school that has a chance to compete in the NCAA Tournament and win a conference championship,” said Palma. “Jeron has received invitations to visit campuses on an informal basis. We’re discussing his options. He has a year to go playing high school and AAU basketball. We’re very excited about the possibilities for the future.”

Jeron said he gets special attention from his father. “Whenever there’s a break from school, I go over to L. A. and my dad works with me in the gym, on the court, helping me get better,” he said. “My all-time idols are Magic Johnson, Isiah Thomas and John Stockton but of the current players, I like Devin Booker, Lou Williams and D’Angelo Russell.”

Jeron said he remembers fondly practicing with La Salle during his visit here four years ago. He’s not in contact with his namesake Jeron Teng but follows him in social media. They met at the La Salle practice. When Jeron found out that Teng would play in a PBA game last Sunday, he said he’ll watch him on TV. From when Jeron came over in 2015, he said the quality of how the game is played here has improved remarkably.

Recruiting insider John Gershon said as a combo guard, Jeron has “really improved as a shooter.” He added, “Hard worker, he’s made a lot of progress in his development … what he brings the most at this point is shot-making but he can put the ball on the floor and make other players better a little bit … given his bloodline and development, he’s somebody to keep an eye on.”