Will SEABA take a stand?

Representatives of member nations of SEABA (Southeast Asian Basketball Association), the regional governing body sanctioned by FIBA, are convening for a meeting in Phnom Penh this morning and the scuttlebutt is an item on the agenda is the wanton naturalization of players in the ongoing SEA Games. It’s timely because the men’s gold medal game is scheduled today. Host Cambodia’s team is stacked with five foreign imports while Indonesia has two. The Philippines’ only naturalized player is Justin Brownlee.

Gilas team manager Butch Antonio will attend the SEABA meeting. He tempered expectations of SEABA taking a stand against the use of unlimited naturalized players in future SEA Games. “FIBA is involved in the conduct of basketball in the SEA Games but has nothing to do with eligibility rules which are set by the SEAG Federation,” said Antonio. SEABA can talk about Cambodia’s passport-only policy but is powerless in influencing the SEAG Federation to align eligibility rules with FIBA.

In the Asian Games, the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) lays down the law on eligibility which may or may not conform to SEAG Federation or FIBA rules. OCA has its own mandate. In the last 2018 Asian Games, the basketball policy was a country could enlist one naturalized import and an unlimited number of passport-bearing heritage players. The Philippine team was made up of Jordan Clarkson as naturalized import, heritage players Christian Standhardinger, Stanley Pringle, Maverick Ahanmisi, Asi Taulava and Gabe Norwood and locals Chris Tiu, James Yap, Paul Lee, Raymond Almazan, Beau Belga and Poy Erram.

Antonio said the rule of one naturalized import and unlimited passport-bearing heritage players should be the standard. Cambodia’s Oscar Lopez is a passport-bearing heritage player as his mother Thon Khun is Cambodian. Indonesia’s Brandon Jawato is also a passport-bearing heritage player. FIBA, however, has a restriction on heritage players who must be issued their passports before 16. The same restriction applies to foreigners, meaning they’re eligible if they receive their passports before 16. Indonesia’s Dame Diagne, for instance, is Senegalese but plays for Indonesia as a local in FIBA competitions because his passport was issued before 16. Under FIBA rules, only Norwood and Taulava would’ve been eligible for the last Asian Games as heritage players because the others received their passports after 16.

Antonio said SBP was informed of Cambodia’s passport-only policy months ago but wouldn’t follow the lead. Naturalizing two or more imports to load Gilas for a chance to regain the gold medal wasn’t acceptable. It’s not about winning at all costs. It’s about winning with integrity.

Antonio said playing conditions in Cambodia were unimaginable. The arena was not air-conditioned and organizers brought in 25 portable units to cool the venue but the heat remained intense. Practice courts were outdoors on cement so Gilas went to a sports club with an indoor, non-airconditioned facility on a linoleum floor instead to work out. The playing venue also had a linoleum floor that looked wooden. Still, conditions were the same for all teams so the challenge was to adapt.