Players that we can have naturalized

[Giannis34GOD]

But Al Panlilio is still sleeping in the noodlehouse and doesn't have the brains to be the SBP president and work on those things are common sense for a lot of people.

Is Al Panlilio still operating Gilas? I thought it was Al Chua who is now the general manager of Gilas? Why keep blaming Al Panlilio? This is the job of general manager and project director.. not the president.. because he has more work to do outside handling basketball program...

[live_evil]

Is Al Panlilio still operating Gilas? I thought it was Al Chua who is now the general manager of Gilas? Why keep blaming Al Panlilio? This is the job of general manager and project director.. not the president.. because he has more work to do outside handling basketball program...

all the more that he is not fit for the position. as the top guy, he sets the agenda. he should step down.

[sroth3839]

So, is Bennie’s naturalization cancelled?

[IPC]

So, is Bennie’s naturalization cancelled?

https://www.philstar.com/sports/2025/02/04/2418997/wheres-bennie/amp/

[BJ_Reloaded]

indeed father time is really catching up on JB on a faster rate.

forget Bennie Boatwright he doesn't really fit the bill.

if indeed the news are true that he is "ghosting" the calls of the SBP, well he is not our lost.

there's a lot of of potential big fish out there since SBP tends to throw it's fishing line at Uncle Sam's humongous aquarium

except for AK34 who is nurtured and harvested here domestically others comes from Uncle Sam's parameters.

I think we as fan already had the ideal quality we really need moving forward.

the fusion of the ff:

JB's attitude and manners + Andray Blatche height and skillset + Sonny Alvarado's motor and work rate(the 20/20 ave.per game) = Future Gilas Naturalize Player.

with the advent of advance technologies and different platforms nowadays fetching that kind of a fish is not rare anymore.

SBP should really hired a hotshot of a fisherman or an angler to catch such quality,

well, Sir Jim Kelly and Tony Ronzone are one of those high level fishermen we've known because of their Filipino connection and affiliation bec. of their respective wife and kids.

[allan_373]

Possible Naturalized Candidates for Gilas Pilipinas


Here are a few players (as of 2024/2025) who could be considered, based on skills, position, and realistic chances:

✅ 1. Johnathan Williams

• Position: PF/C
• Background: Former NBA player; has played in Japan B.League
• Why him? Athletic, strong rebounder, fits Gilas’ up-tempo style, and already familiar with Asian basketball.

✅ 2. Thomas Robinson

• Position: PF
• Background: Former NBA lottery pick, strong presence in international leagues.
• Why him? Physical, experienced, fills the big man void. Has expressed openness to national team stints in the past.

✅ 3. JaJuan Johnson

• Position: PF/C
• Background: Experienced EuroLeague veteran
• Why him? Great two-way player, versatile, solid basketball IQ. Could blend well in FIBA play.

✅ 4. Angelo Warner

• Position: G
• Background: Imports in Asia, high basketball IQ, scorer
• Why him? Could be an option if Gilas needs a scoring guard backup behind Jordan Clarkson or if they need a flexible combo guard.

✅ 5. Dwayne Bacon

• Position: SF
• Background: Former NBA player; has played in China
• Why him? Powerful scorer, could help in the wing position if the team shifts focus from bigs to scoring.
  
  Thanks.

[alfrancis]

Possible Naturalized Candidates for Gilas Pilipinas


Here are a few players (as of 2024/2025) who could be considered, based on skills, position, and realistic chances:

✅ 1. Johnathan Williams

• Position: PF/C
• Background: Former NBA player; has played in Japan B.League
• Why him? Athletic, strong rebounder, fits Gilas’ up-tempo style, and already familiar with Asian basketball.

✅ 2. Thomas Robinson

• Position: PF
• Background: Former NBA lottery pick, strong presence in international leagues.
• Why him? Physical, experienced, fills the big man void. Has expressed openness to national team stints in the past.

✅ 3. JaJuan Johnson

• Position: PF/C
• Background: Experienced EuroLeague veteran
• Why him? Great two-way player, versatile, solid basketball IQ. Could blend well in FIBA play.

✅ 4. Angelo Warner

• Position: G
• Background: Imports in Asia, high basketball IQ, scorer
• Why him? Could be an option if Gilas needs a scoring guard backup behind Jordan Clarkson or if they need a flexible combo guard.

✅ 5. Dwayne Bacon

• Position: SF
• Background: Former NBA player; has played in China
• Why him? Powerful scorer, could help in the wing position if the team shifts focus from bigs to scoring.
  
  Thanks.

Also crucial for consideration is their age and height.

[hmbopbaduwap]

Possible Naturalized Candidates for Gilas Pilipinas


Here are a few players (as of 2024/2025) who could be considered, based on skills, position, and realistic chances:

✅ 1. Johnathan Williams

• Position: PF/C
• Background: Former NBA player; has played in Japan B.League
• Why him? Athletic, strong rebounder, fits Gilas’ up-tempo style, and already familiar with Asian basketball.

✅ 2. Thomas Robinson

• Position: PF
• Background: Former NBA lottery pick, strong presence in international leagues.
• Why him? Physical, experienced, fills the big man void. Has expressed openness to national team stints in the past.

✅ 3. JaJuan Johnson

• Position: PF/C
• Background: Experienced EuroLeague veteran
• Why him? Great two-way player, versatile, solid basketball IQ. Could blend well in FIBA play.

✅ 4. Angelo Warner

• Position: G
• Background: Imports in Asia, high basketball IQ, scorer
• Why him? Could be an option if Gilas needs a scoring guard backup behind Jordan Clarkson or if they need a flexible combo guard.

✅ 5. Dwayne Bacon

• Position: SF
• Background: Former NBA player; has played in China
• Why him? Powerful scorer, could help in the wing position if the team shifts focus from bigs to scoring.
  
  Thanks.

Don't think Robinson will ever return here after that "Isang bala ka lang" incident with Pido Jarencio.

[Sikatrix]

Robinson is also already naturalized by Lebanon. I dont think he has played yet though. Williams played here for Phoenix, too poor a free throw shooter to be an NP personally.

[thatweirdguy]

Ugh pass. I know we're not really big in development and all but those "vets" are washed at this point of their careers. JB probably could still outplay and outlast them.

Can't we get a player in his early 20s?

[allan_373]

Ugh pass. I know we're not really big in development and all but those "vets" are washed at this point of their careers. JB probably could still outplay and outlast them.

Can't we get a player in his early 20s?

Here are some potential 20-year-old (or younger) players who could be considered for naturalization, based on their talent and current international status (non-Filipino citizens): Potential Candidates (as of 2025):

Note: These are speculative and not yet confirmed by SBP or FIBA.

Mackenzie Mgbako	20	Nigeria/USA	6'8"	Forward	A versatile wing with international experience, high ceiling.
Baye Fall	20	Senegal	6'11"	Center	Athletic big man, great potential as a rim protector and rebounder.
Khaman Maluach	18	South Sudan	7'2"	Center	Already playing pro-level ball; elite size and mobility for his age.
Omaha Biliew	20	USA/South Sudan	6'8"	Forward	Strong frame, good defender; potential to grow in a system.
Izan Almansa	19	Spain	6'10"	PF/C	Skilled big man, MVP in FIBA youth tournaments. Could add finesse.

Requirements to Naturalize:

• Must not have played for another country's senior national team.
• Willing to commit long-term.
• Needs to be naturalized through Congress (PH legal process).
• Must meet FIBA eligibility rules.

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[lem0nadi]

Love the effort, but you can’t just pick a prospect out of nowhere and make him a candidate for the national team (NT). The player should be willing and interested in playing for the NT, or else it’ll be another Boatwright scenario where he ghosts us.

Also, the prospects you mentioned have already played for their respective countries. Khaman even played for South Sudan when the World Cup was held here. Almansa already played for Spain.

The best approach is to get a Fil-Am who isn’t eligible as a local to play as a naturalized player (NP). The older Harper would work, or Boogie Ellis or Remy Martin. I know we really need a big guy right now, but if the price of getting that is waiting 3-5 years for the process of naturalizing a non-Filo player, then the NP will be 35 by the time he’s finally eligible. That’s not ideal. It’s better to have a ready-to-play young player who might not play as big but can contribute instantly. Alternatively, we can get an import playing in the PBA as an NP, which could be the same situation as JB, or if we’re unlucky again, Boatwright. But we’d have to keep trying.

It’s tough to get a younger player because teams in the PBA tend to prioritize experienced vet. JB was in his late 20s when he played here in 2016, but his naturalization process didn’t happen early due to what so reasons.

[BJ_Reloaded]

The Gold standard as far as establishing a genuine basketball team both for Men and Women with the intention of consistently winning medals moving forward is as follows:

A. SBP should take the Angelo Kouame and Favour Onoh template who had a strong possibility to become a "local" moving forward therefore kids like Colin Akowe, Racine Kane among others had a strong chance to be on that same path if ever they decided to acquire PH citizenship because all of them are literally developed here both educationally and basketball skill sets.

B. Our domestic leagues should consider and treat them as a local player especially to those who already acquired their citizenship because as per Republic Act "they are entitled to all the rights and privilege as a Filipino.

C. Continue building a strong network on all diaspora to scout and identify talents and educate them all the possibilities they could get if they decided to represent the country moving forward
because were not only talking about basketball career here but also beyond that. considering the stakeholders running the show was also businessmen who owns and operates some of the major
companies here in the country and working on a corporate world after a career in basketball is still one of the best options or luckily as a privilege they could choose a "Pangkabuhayan Package" ala Kerby Raymundo among others.

D.(related to C and the previous posted statement) because of the abundance of talents in the 6'8 and above level specifically in the land of Uncle Sam who are recently or currently playing in a top-tier or mid-tier Div. 1 team who is still in the early or mid=20's, a boundary NBA level type of a player or a G-Leaguer and willing to acquire PH citizenship and has the quality that I've mentioned then the National Federation should consider him/her.

recently CTC mentioned that one of the main reasons why they decided to put only a compact pool of players aside from familiarity to the system

they are also considering the finances and perks of running and maintaining an ultra competitive national team both for Men and Women

as a diehard fan of Philippine sports as whole, indeed money matters is an onion and even the sheikhs had it's own limitation as well.

mankind has it's limitation and that's fair game.

I'm talking about Philippine Sports here as a whole, yes Team USA, Spain, France, Germany, China, Australia, Japan are among the power house not only in basketball development but also on
all sports in general.

but what really makes us a standout amongst them is because we Filipinos has the brains to run a very competitive show despite limited financial muscles.

if we can only think and work as one we could hone and discover more talented kids out there.

that is why getting a naturalized player(s) out there both for our Men and Women teams are just patching up that big holes and it is only for a short term investment.

but we are looking for a much longer investment here if we could come up with a Gold Standard of Developing Basketball Program here in our country.

to the point of we would never patching up those big holes but rather small gaps that we could bang around with the big boys during medal rounds.

[allan_373]

Gilas Pilipinas can take several strategic steps to improve the national basketball team's performance long-term like Stronger International Exposure.

• Regularly participate in international tournaments and training camps.
• Play friendlies against tougher teams to gain experience.

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[JAMSKIE]

Gilas Pilipinas can take several strategic steps to improve the national basketball team's performance long-term like Stronger International Exposure.

• Regularly participate in international tournaments and training camps.
• Play friendlies against tougher teams to gain experience.

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How can that be possible when our beloved PBA's calendar isn't synchronized with FIBA calendar? U see, those FIBA tournaments as well as other international/invitational tournaments are held during the months of July, August & September - a time when all (except PBA) professional leagues all over the world are on their off season. Eh sa upcoming 2025 FIBA Asia Cup nga eh, our Gilas would probably get only around 9 days of preparation. On the other hand, all the other teams will train for a least a month. And the reason for that Gilas very very limited period of preparation is our beloved PBA which runs for 14 months per season.