Fiba bars Navarro from playing overseas, citing pact with Gilas

Will Navarro (left) can only spread his wings on an international cage court with Gilas Pilipinas.—FIBA.COM

With another Fiba World Cup qualifying window up in a couple of months, the world governing body dropped the hammer on Gilas Pilipinas standout Will Navarro that barred the Filipino from playing overseas while having a live contract.

Through a statement released to media outlets, the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas said that Fiba has decided to uphold the 25-year-old’s contract with Gilas Pilipinas that cleared the air on an earlier report that claimed the local federation had barred Navarro from suiting up for the Seoul Samsung Thunders, a pro club in the Korea Basketball League (KBL).

“After carefully reviewing the positions of the (Korea Basketball Association) and the SBP, Fiba issued its decision on Sept. 12, 2022, not to allow Mr. Navarro to join the Samsung Thunders,” the SBP, through executive director Sonny Barrios, said.

‘Ethical practice’

Navarro’s national team contract, according to the SBP, stipulates that he “(plays) for the national team, attend activities, practices and social and business functions and with his undeniable agreement, be assigned only and no other team or ballclub than his (Philippine Basketball Association) drafting.”

The former Ateneo standout in the UAAP was selected by NorthPort in a special Gilas drafting two years ago.

“The SBP does not intend to unduly prevent players from furthering their careers with other teams here or overseas. But it is a fundamental and ethical practice for players to honor their existing contracts with their mother teams,” the statement added.

This happened two years after the Kiefer Ravena brouhaha, where the Gilas point guard left NLEX in a huff to play for bigger money in the Japan B.League. Ravena gained a release from Road Warriors management even with two more years left on his current deal.

The development deals a career roadblock to Navarro, who signed with the Thunders back in July.

Faithful son

Born to Filipino parents and raised in Greece, the versatile forward has been nothing short of faithful to the program, playing a total of 15 games for Gilas while backstopping Ateneo and fulfilling his role as a cadet after being formally drafted into the seniors program by way of a special SBP-PBA selection process back in 2021.

A full-blooded Filipino raised in Greece, Navarro turned in his finest outing for Gilas in the Asia Cup in Indonesia last July, tallying 18 points against India during the group phase.

However, from a federation standpoint, this means that Navarro, whose PBA rights belong to NorthPort, will be at Gilas’ beck and call, especially for the November window of the WC Asian Qualifiers, where the Philippines battles Jordan and Saudi Arabia on the road as the team prepares for the global meet set here next year.

The decision has raised a howl on followers and even former national players, with Greg Slaughter, who will be playing in Japan, and Kai Sotto, who is seeing action in Australia, blasting the SBP for the move.

“I’m sorry but this is crazy. THIS HAS TO STOP,” Sotto wrote on Twitter. “You got players who’ve been working hard and dreaming to play basketball at the highest level they can reach and we got our own people stopping us from achieving our greatness.”

Slaughter, meanwhile, wrote: “TOTAL BS and crab mentality at its highest.”

“At the end of the day, one’s success is ‘everyone’s.’ So we have to help each other go up! Not down,” Sotto added.

The SBP said it does not intend to keep “players from furthering their careers with other teams and overseas,” but stressed the “sanctity of an existing, legally-binding contract whenever the issue of a player transfer comes.”

Back in October, the SBP also sounded the alarm on Jordan Heading who opted to take his talent to Taiwan. Part of that same Gilas special draft class as Navarro, the Filipino-Aussie playmaker selected by Terrafirma pushed through with the stint, even making the finals of the T1 league. He is now set to ply his trade in Japan.