SBP awaits Bennie naturalization

(UPDATE) TIM Cone believes former San Miguel Beer import Bennie Boatwright’s status as Gilas Pilipinas’ naturalized player remains up in the air, a reason why the national squad is sticking with Justin Brownlee for the second window of the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers this November.

“He’s (Boatwright) in a process. I don’t know the full process with being naturalized, but he’s been handed to the House and Senate, and he’s going through the process,” said Cone.

“As far as I know, it’s like a six-month process at least to go through the whole process of being naturalized,” he added. “We know there’s a lot of sports aficionados in the Senate. They are excited about having Bennie just as we are.”

The 6-foot-10 Boatwright burst into the PBA scene last December as a replacement for Ivan Aska.

Showcasing his outside shooting, no nonsense defense and rebounding, the former USC Trojan went on to lead the Beermen to the PBA Commissioner’s Cup championship against the Magnolia Hotshots last February.

Get the latest news
delivered to your inbox
Sign up for The Manila Times newsletters

By signing up with an email address, I acknowledge that I have read and agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.

Cone said while they await the result of his naturalization process, Boatwright is welcome to work out with Gilas when the national squad resumes practice early in November as they prepare for the second window.

“He can come in some five or seven days before the next window and work with us. That would be great,” said the 66-year-old Cone. “It’s something we can explore, but again, he could be playing in Greece, or Japan or China, or could be playing somewhere else, and he’ll not be able to do that.”

For now, Cone said Brownlee remains Gilas’ main naturalized player as far as the second window is concerned, where the Philippines will host New Zealand and Hong Kong.

“Justin is healthy, a hundred percent right now, and he’ll definitely be the guy to play in November. But if not [healthy], hopefully, Bennie will be naturalized [already because] then we use Bennie [this November],” explained Cone.

Otherwise, the concurrent Barangay Ginebra coach said they’ll probably need to bring in Ange Kouame, who’s part of the pool of naturalized players for the Philippines.