A House panel has approved the Philippine naturalization application of professional basketball player Justin Donta Brownlee--arguably the most beloved "import" of Barangay Ginebra, the most popular sports franchise in the country.
Approved by the House Committee on Justice on Wednesday morning, Nov. 16 was House Bill (HB) No.825.
Filed by 1-PACMAN Party-list Rep. Mikee Romero, the measure bats for granting of Philippine citizenship to the 34-year-old Georgia, United States of America (USA) native. Brownlee, clad in a polo barong, attended the hearing in person and confirmed to the solons his personal desire to gain citizenship in the country.
"Brownlee first introduced himself to Filipinos in the 2016 PBA (Philippine Basketball Association) Governors Cup where he led Barangay Ginebra to its first championship in eight years," Romero said in his sponsorship speech.
"He gave the Gin Kings two more titles in the 2017 Governor's Cup and in the recently concluded Commissioner's Cuo where he was also named Best Import," he added.
According to Romero, the 6'6" Brownlee has been a permanent fixture in Philippine Basketball and a fan favorite of Filipinos. He gave a quick summary of the American's achievements in PBA.
“Throughout Mr. Brownlee’s very decorated and illustrious career in the PBA, he was able to attain five PBA championships and two Best Import awards with the career averages of 28.9 points per game, 12 rebounds per game, 5.6 assists per game, 1.9 steals per game, and 1.7 blocks per game. He is also the first PBA import to record 400+ 3 pointers made and ranks 1st among PBA imports for 3 points made with 404 as of July 24, 2022. Lastly, he ranks as fifth in the all-time PBA imports scoring leaders with 4,539 points as of April 2022,” he said.
Romero said Brownlee “has brought enormous pride and joy to all of Filipino basketball fans through his hardwork in the PBA.”
“On his part and since 2018, Mr. Brownlee has been consistent with his desire to make our country his permanent home and is very much willing and able to represent the Philippines in the international basketball scene as a member of Gilas Pilipinas Men’s Basketball team,” the solon added.
Romero said the measure will provide Gilas Pilipinas Men’s Basketball team with “a truly dependable ally in their quest to proudly represent our country in the upcoming February 2023 sixth and final window of the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers which will be hosted by the Philippines, and the FIBA World Cup 2023".
Brownlee thanked the panel for approving the measure, which now needs to go through plenary.