FILE – Alab Pilipinas guard Jason Brickman. ABL PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—The eligibility of several Filipino-foreign players into the 2021 PBA Rookie Draft could be in jeopardy just weeks before the deadline for application.
Projected first-rounders Jason Brickman, Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser, and Jeremiah Gray still need the proper certifications from the Bureau of Immigration and Department of Justice a fortnight before the submission closes on January 27.
Speaking at the Power and Play podcast, agent Charlie Dy said his clients won’t be eligible for the rookie selection unless they submit those papers.
“They only relaxed the D-League requirement, but for Fil-Ams it’s still the same. They still have to submit the BI recognition and the DOJ affirmation,” said Dy in the podcast that former PBA Commissioner Noli Wala hosts. “I got a message the other day saying that they’re not eligible until they submit those requirements.”
The current COVID-19 pandemic would also mean that Brickman, Ganuelas-Rosser, and Gray will be unable to travel to the Philippines in time to secure the papers personally.
If things pan out, the earliest they could join the Draft would be in 2022.
“They actually won’t make the deadline. With the pandemic, they won’t be able to fly here. They’ll have to wait for next year,” said Dy.
The PBA requires Fil-foreign players to secure such papers from the government to protect the league from so-called “Fil-shams” or players who lie of their Filipino heritage just to play in the association.
It was in the early 2000s that the “Fil-shams” proliferated in the PBA and that needed government intervention through the Senate.
Dy added that it will need a recommendation from the league’s legal counsel Atty. Melvin Mendoza to the Board of Governors if a rule change to the Draft would be instituted.
“The only requirement in the consular office is if you’re a natural-born Filipino, as long as your parents are Filipino, you just have to report your birth. So you get a PSA birth certificate and at the same time, you can apply for a Philippine passport,” said Dy. “But Atty. Melvin said that’s not the only requirement because the rule in the PBA is the recognition and the affirmation, still. Until the board changes it, it’s still the same rule that’s going to be followed.”
“I think he should recommend the changes to the board, being a lawyer. The rule has been there for 22 years, since 1998.”