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Boatwright naturalization gets rolling in Senate

Sports | Basketball

Boatwright naturalization gets rolling in Senate

By Reynald I. Magallon

At A Glance

The naturalization of potential Gilas Pilipinas reinforcement Bennie Boatwright has finally been set in motion in the Senate.

The naturalization of potential Gilas Pilipinas reinforcement Bennie Boatwright has finally been set in motion in the Senate.

That, after the upper chamber of the 20th Congress, through its social media pages, announced that the Senate Committee on Justice is holding the first public hearing for the naturalization of Boatwright as well as other candidates Malick Diouf, Elizabeth Means and Matthew James Ramos.

Committee Chair Senator Francis ‘Kiko’ Pangilinan is leading the hearing set at 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 3.

The former San Miguel import is seeking naturalization under Senate Bill No. 1595 and House Bill No. 6639 in hopes of reinforcing the national team in its bid to qualify to the 2027 FIBA World Cup and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

Boatwright had already appeared before the House of Representatives in November last year.

It’s been two years since Boatwright’s naturalization was launched in the Congress after turning heads with his size and shooting that led the Beermen to PBA Season 48 Commissioner’s Cup championship.

The news should come as a welcome development for Gilas which was coming off a 0-2 outing in the second window of the 2027 FIBA World Cup Asian qualifiers.

Boatwright is seeking to join Ange Kouame and Justin Brownlee in the naturalized player pool. Of the two, Brownlee was the more active in the national team, seeing action in the last two windows of the qualifiers.

Although still effective with 16.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.8 assists, Brownlee is already 37-years-old and the national team program needs to find possible replacements at the naturalized player spot.

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