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Fiba Asia: Only one naturalized cager allowed
Tuesday, July 28, 2009 11:37:00 AM
FIBA Asia secretary-general Dato Yeoh Choo Hock has reportedly taken notice of the efforts by some countries in the region to recruit foreigners and pass them off as their national players.
China's Sohu.com reported that Dato Yeoh made it clear that only one foreign player could be naturalized and play in the Fiba Asia Men's Basketball Championship, which begins in Tianjin, China, on Aug. 6.
"The rule is clear. There can only be one player who changes his nationality to play for a new country and we will carefully examine every player on the rosters to make sure the rule is properly implemented," said Dato Yeoh.
The issue broke wide open at the Jones Cup in Taipei, when Iran's head coach Veselin Matic claimed in a post-game press conference that Qatar, Lebanon and Jordan benefited from "naturalizing American imports."
Matic stressed that Iranian players were all native players and that the Asian Championship "is a tournament that belongs to Asian players."
He went on to charge that some countries have been naturalizing American imports "to make their team stronger. The championship looks like a pro game right now."
While Matic mentioned Lebanon, Jordan and Qatar, he said the Qataris are the worst and hardly have a local player on the roster.
Jordan's coach, the fiery Mario Palma, was visibly angry over Matic's allegations and said the Iranian coach should focus on how to make Iran a better team instead of making false accusations on the import issue. He also claimed that not all Iranian players are native.
Standard Today, www.insidesports.ph and Viva Sports did some research and also obtained information from a Lebanese citizen, who confirmed that NBA player Jackson Vroman had been naturalized but that Matthew Wayne Freije, a 6'10", 240-pound Vanderbilt University forward, who was drafted by the Miami Heat in the second round of the 2004 NBA Draft, was being passed off as a Lebanese when he reportedly was an American.
Freije scored a tournament high 39 points and pulled down 11 rebounds against South Korea on Saturday and proved a major asset to the team.
Also being paraded as a Lebanese was University of Kentucky's Antwain Barbour, a flashy 6'5" guard/forward, who represented the USA National Team at the World University Games of 2001 in China.
Barbour, nicknamed "Teardrop," was a CBA All Star in 2005 and won the CBA Championship in 2006. He is regarded as a pure slasher, who gets to the basket with ease.
Iran has 7'2" Hamed Haddadi who plays for the Memphis Grizzlies in the NBA made a big impression in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, where he emerged as the top rebounder and shot blocker and was the lone Olympian to average a double-double with 16.6 points and 11.2 rebounds a game. However, there's no question that Haddadi is an Iranian. Ronnie Nathanielsz - Manila Standard Today
Tuesday, July 28, 2009 11:37:00 AM
FIBA Asia secretary-general Dato Yeoh Choo Hock has reportedly taken notice of the efforts by some countries in the region to recruit foreigners and pass them off as their national players.
China's Sohu.com reported that Dato Yeoh made it clear that only one foreign player could be naturalized and play in the Fiba Asia Men's Basketball Championship, which begins in Tianjin, China, on Aug. 6.
"The rule is clear. There can only be one player who changes his nationality to play for a new country and we will carefully examine every player on the rosters to make sure the rule is properly implemented," said Dato Yeoh.
The issue broke wide open at the Jones Cup in Taipei, when Iran's head coach Veselin Matic claimed in a post-game press conference that Qatar, Lebanon and Jordan benefited from "naturalizing American imports."
Matic stressed that Iranian players were all native players and that the Asian Championship "is a tournament that belongs to Asian players."
He went on to charge that some countries have been naturalizing American imports "to make their team stronger. The championship looks like a pro game right now."
While Matic mentioned Lebanon, Jordan and Qatar, he said the Qataris are the worst and hardly have a local player on the roster.
Jordan's coach, the fiery Mario Palma, was visibly angry over Matic's allegations and said the Iranian coach should focus on how to make Iran a better team instead of making false accusations on the import issue. He also claimed that not all Iranian players are native.
Standard Today, www.insidesports.ph and Viva Sports did some research and also obtained information from a Lebanese citizen, who confirmed that NBA player Jackson Vroman had been naturalized but that Matthew Wayne Freije, a 6'10", 240-pound Vanderbilt University forward, who was drafted by the Miami Heat in the second round of the 2004 NBA Draft, was being passed off as a Lebanese when he reportedly was an American.
Freije scored a tournament high 39 points and pulled down 11 rebounds against South Korea on Saturday and proved a major asset to the team.
Also being paraded as a Lebanese was University of Kentucky's Antwain Barbour, a flashy 6'5" guard/forward, who represented the USA National Team at the World University Games of 2001 in China.
Barbour, nicknamed "Teardrop," was a CBA All Star in 2005 and won the CBA Championship in 2006. He is regarded as a pure slasher, who gets to the basket with ease.
Iran has 7'2" Hamed Haddadi who plays for the Memphis Grizzlies in the NBA made a big impression in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, where he emerged as the top rebounder and shot blocker and was the lone Olympian to average a double-double with 16.6 points and 11.2 rebounds a game. However, there's no question that Haddadi is an Iranian. Ronnie Nathanielsz - Manila Standard Today
but if that happens he also needs a good excuse he cant just come in and do smthng like this without giving a reason for every player ...like for qatar he game every1 new names and new passports and no1 can say anything cuz the africans he got suck and never played anywhere before so theres no history of them playing but in the cases of players like matt freijeh,daniel faris and jackson vroman there is nothing that can be said since jackson is the naturalized player(1 allowed) and daniel and matt both have lebanese family names and he cant even say we changed matt,s name since in the NBA this is the name hes registered in the years of 04-06 so nothing there that shows any unethical action by lebanese like in what qatar do ...so if there is nothing that can be given as an excuse than nothing can happen or the guy who is taking this action would be damaging himself as a basketball leading decision maker whoever he is and losing alot of credibility not just a member in the basketball federation but as a human being cuz only animals make decisions without any reason or cause
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