Boatwright naturalization still on in present Congress
THE bid to get Bennie Boatwright naturalized and join Gilas Pilipinas Men is still on.
Stalled in the previous Congress, the naturalization process of Mr. Boatwright has been revived in the 20th Congress through HB 04401 principally authored by Isabela Rep. Faustino Dy III.
“It (bill) has already been re-filed in this Congress when it opened and we’re just waiting for the Committee of Justice to call the first hearings,” Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas executive director Erika Dy said during Tuesday’s PSA Forum.
“So scheduled process na lang siya. But as we know, our Congress has a lot of other things to take care of, before the hearing. So we’re trying to be as patient as we can about it, understanding there are other national concerns that come ahead of this,” she added.
Mr. Boatwright, who powered San Miguel Beer to the PBA Commissioner’s Cup title in 2024, is being eyed to bolster the Gilas’ naturalized players’ pool or even potentially take over from Justin Brownlee, now 37, further down the road. Mr. Boatwright stands at 6-foot-10, giving the squad extra ceiling, and at 29 years old, has a lot of playing years ahead of him.
It’s a different situation for Nigerian Favor Onoh, 6-foot-4 naturalization prospect for Gilas Women. Former UP star Mr. Onoh has already left the country as she accepted a scholarship from the University of Oklahoma in the US NCAA.
“We’re still trying to keep in touch with her but we actually haven’t decided yet if we would move forward with her naturalization,” said Ms. Dy, who appeared with Norman Black, coach of the Gilas team to the Southeast Asian Games, in the forum. — Olmin Leyba
