Douthit fails to get citizenship in time for Asiad

American import Marcus Douthit won't be able to play for Smart Gilas Pilipinas Team in the Guangzhou Asian Games in November. This developed after the former Los Angeles Lakers draftee failed to get the approval from Malacañang before the Senate’s three-week break. Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri, who sponsored Senate Bill 2559 which will grant Douthit Philippine citizenship, said Malacañang did not certify the measure and they were not able to pass it on third and last reading on Wednesday. "If we do not pass it on third reading Wednesday, definitely, the gentleman, the top scorer of the Philippine team, will not be able to play in the Asian Games, where we have a strong chance because we have already beaten many of these top contenders," he said during the Senate session.

Zubiri said this happened because Malacañang probably didn't want their first certified bill to be a bill for naturalization. "They could have certified several other bills and then made this number four or number five (but) that’s all water under the bridge and we are running out of time. I would like to share my frustrations with this fact," he said. Zubiri clarified that the Senate did its part in fast-tracking the naturalization of Douthit. "We tried to make it as quickly as possible to be able to at least come up with a good fighting chance in the Asian Games in the Filipinos’ favorite sport (basketball)," he said. This is not the first time an American player is being requested to be naturalized. It happened during the 1980s when Danding Cojuangco came up with a program similar to what is now being implemented by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas headed by sportsman/businessman Manny V. Pangilinan. Cojuangco, then the godfather of RP basketball, hired American coach Ron Jacobs to run the national team’s basketball program, which included the naturalization of three American players – Chip Engelland, Jeff Moore and Dennis Still. The three naturalized players helped the Nationals win the Asian Basketbal Confederation (now FIBA Asia Championship) crown in 1985, which proved to be the last time the country ruled the prestigious tournament. The team also competed in the Philippine Basketball Association that same year, and became the first guest squad to win a championship by sweeping the Manila Beer Brewmasters, 4-0, in the best-of-seven finals. Douthit is the fourth import to become a candidate for naturalization, after CJ Giles, Jamal Sampson and Serbian Milan Vucicevic. But he will not be able to join the national developmental squad for the Asiad. The national developmental team members who were officially named to the squad were Asi Taulava and Kelly Williams — two players loaned by the PBA to the squad — and Chris Tiu, Mark Barroca, Mac Baracael, JV Casio, Dylan Ababou, Japeth Aguilar, Greg Slaughter, Jason Ballesteros, Marcio Lassiter and Aldrech Ramos. Another PBA player, Solomon Mercado of Rain or Shine, was also requested to reinforce the national developmental squad, while mainstay Chris Lutz, who has just secured his Philippine passport, was also tapped by the RP-Smart Gilas squad for the Asiad. Mercado and Lutz, however, were not included in the original 12-man roster submitted by the Philippine Olympic Committee to the Asian Games Committee late last month, but they are likely to join the squad and become a last-minute inclusion in the RP developmental team roster. The last time the Philippines won the Asian Games gold medal was in 1962 when the team was led by cage legend Caloy Loyzaga. Since the open basketball policy was instituted in 1989 and the Philippines started sending professional players to the Asiad, the Nationals’ best ever accomplishment was a second-place finish in the 1990 Asian Games in Beijing. The all-pro squad was coached by Robert Jaworski. - KY, RCJ, GMANews.TV