Senate grants Philippine citizenship to Douthit

Uncertain to join the Smart Gilas national developmental team in the Guangzhou Asian Games at the last minute, Marcus Douthit will be allowed to backstop the country in other major Asian basketball tournaments, including the Olympic qualifying FIBA Asia Championship next year. The former Los Angeles Lakers draftee was granted Filipino citizenship by the Senate during Monday's session. The Senate approved on third and final reading the bills 138 and 2559, which will provide Philippine citizenship to the American import Douthit. All 13 senators present voted in favor of passing the bills. Douthit is the fourth import to become a candidate for naturalization, after CJ Giles, Jamal Sampson, and Serbian Milan Vucicevic. The 6-foot-11 American isn’t the first foreign player to be given Philippine citizenship. Americans Arthur "Chip" Engelland, Jeff Moore and Dennis Still were naturalized in the 1980s to help the Philippine men’s basketball team to win the Asian Basketball Confederation (now FIBA Asia Championship) crown in 1985. Bad news for PHL cagers The Senate’s approval of Douthit’s Philippine citizenship was indeed a welcome development for Philippine basketball. But there’s also some bad news. Sol Mercado, one of three professional players loaned by the PBA to the Smart Gilas national developmental team, hurt his foot during Rain or Shine’s last game against San Miguel Beer. Smart Gilas-PHL team coach Rajko Toroman expressed concern over the health status of the spitfire guard. The national developmental team members who were initially listed among the final 12 were Asi Taulava and Kelly Williams — the two other players loaned by the PBA to the squad — team captain Chris Tiu, Mark Barroca, Mac Baracael, JV Casio, Dylan Ababou, Japeth Aguilar, Greg Slaughter, Jason Ballesteros, Marcio Lassiter and Aldrech Ramos. “We will evaluate him (Sol). We will know if he can still help us in the Asian Games, and if not, we have to make a decision on Thursday during the manager’s meeting and make some changes in our line-up," Toroman told GMANews.TV in a telephone interview. Mercado and another Fil-Am, Chris Lutz, were granted late accreditation by the Asian Games Committee. The national developmental squad leaves Tuesday for China, where they will play two club teams. Toroman said that Hamed Haddadi, the 7-foot-4 center of Iran playing for the Memphis Grizzlies in the NBA, might suit up for the reigning two-time FIBA Asia champions. “It’s still not confirmed yet, but the president of Iran went to the US and reportedly talked to the Grizzlies. Hammed has not played in the Grizzlies’ last two games, and that might be a sign he will play for Iran in the Asian Games," said Toroman. - KY, Rey Joble, Kim Tan, GMANews.TV