“If you have a passport, you can play
The Philippines announced the final entry for the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, including two naturalized athletes.
Abraham Torrentino, president of the Philippine Olympic Committee, recently announced 12 national team rosters competing in the Hangzhou Asian Games.
The Philippines is South Korea’s biggest competitor for the gold medal in nine years since the 2014 Incheon Asian Games. It is expected to compete for the top with Lebanon, Jordan, and China. They announced the roster, and seven of the 12 players recently participated in the 2023 FIBA Philippines-Japan-Indonesia Basketball World Cup.
The Philippines was named by players who played in the basketball World Cup, including Keeper Ravenna, Scotty Thompson, Roger Pogoi, June Mar Payardo, JR Perez, Jafes Aguilar, and Jamie Maronzo. On top of that, Chris Newsom, Calvon Optana, Brandon Roger, and naturalized players Justin Brownley and Angel Cuame were selected.
Players who play abroad, including Dwight Ramos, Lens Avando, Kai Soto, and Jordan Clarkson, do not participate in the Hangzhou Asian Games. According to local media, it will return at the request of his team to return.
It is a roster for the Hangzhou Asian Games in the Philippines, which has many questions. The most talked about is the selection of Brownlee and Cuame together. The two players are naturalized athletes from the Philippines. However, the fact that they were selected together means that they can play together.
Until now, the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), which organizes the Asian Games, has set the standards for naturalized athletes more tightly than FIBA. As a number of naturalized players participated and the international basketball order was on the verge of collapsing, the FIBA set a standard of “one player per country.” On top of that, the OCA established an additional regulation of ‘living in the country for more than three years’. As a result, the Philippines tried to get Andre Blache to compete in the Incheon Asian Games in the past, but failed.
A number of Philippine media also said that there is a possibility of “correction” to the selection of Brownlee and Cuame together. At the same time, he explained why the two players were selected together by telling the story of Chairman Torrentino.
According to Torrentino, he can compete in the Asian Games if he owns a passport regardless of how he obtained citizenship, according to Torrentino. This is a remark that shows that the previous regulations for naturalized athletes at the Asian Games have been revised. Of course, further confirmation is necessary.
If a large number of naturalized athletes can participate in the Hangzhou Asian Games, it will be disadvantageous to South Korea, which has no additional resources other than Ra Gun-ah. In particular, the Philippines is South Korea’s biggest competitor. In addition to the 2002 Busan Asian Games, the Incheon Asian Games and the recent Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games have been held several times. If Brownlee and Cuame can play together, there is no more demanding opponent than him.