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As Fil-foreign players miss out on draft, PBA set to revisit requirements

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Camille B. Naredo, ABS-CBN News 

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2018/tvpatrol/04/29/vampire.jpg"/><figcaption>Jason Brickman is one of the Fil-Am players who failed to submit the citizenship requirements for the PBA Rookie Draft. <em>File photo</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>MANILA, Philippines -- The PBA on Tuesday said it will review its draft requirements -- among other policies -- after several Filipino-foreign players failed to submit the necessary documents for the upcoming draft.</p><p>Potential first-rounders Jason Brickman and Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser were among those who did not make the cut for the March 14 ceremony, as they couldn&#x27;t provide the PBA with a certificate of recognition from the Bureau of Immigration as well as an affirmation from the Department of Justice.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/03/08/21/munzon-malonzo-make-the-cut-but-abl-stars-out-of-final-list-of-pba-draft-applicants">FULL STORY: Munzon, Malonzo make the cut but ABL stars out of final list of PBA draft applicants</a></li></ul><p>Matt Ganuelas-Rosser, Brandon&#x27;s brother, expressed his disappointment on social media, saying that an &quot;outdated rule&quot; kept Brandon from joining the upcoming draft.</p><p>&quot;Brandon will have a future in this league, but I hope this can be an example of why we should amend some of these regulations,&quot; said the TerraFirma swingman. &quot;I believe the days of &#x27;Fil-Shams&#x27; are behind us.&quot;</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">An outdated rule keep my brother <a href="https://twitter.com/brandon_rosser?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@brandon_rosser</a> out of this years draft. Brandon will have a future in this league, but I hope this can be an example of why we should amend some of these regulations. I believe the days of “Fil-Shams” are behind us. 🙏🏾🙏🏾</p>— Matt Ganuelas-Rosser (@Real_Mateo) <a href="https://twitter.com/Real_Mateo/status/1368855074664034305?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 8, 2021</a></blockquote><div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script></div><p>The league was rocked by the &quot;Fil-Sham&quot; controversy in the early 2000s, leading to the imposition of <a href="https://pba.ph/events/pba-season-46-draft-requirements-app-form-local-and-fil-foreign">strict requirements</a> for Filipino-foreign players in order to prove their citizenship.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/07/22/20/pba-fil-sham-controversy-brings-back-a-lot-of-pain-says-taulava">READ: ‘Fil-Sham’ controversy ‘brings back a lot of pain,’ says Taulava</a></li></ul><p>&quot;As of now, ang sinusunod pa rin natin, &#x27;yung sinimulan dati,&quot; PBA commissioner Willie Marcial acknowledged on Tuesday during a press briefing, after the league&#x27;s annual planning session.</p><p>These rules are now up for review, however. It is not only Ganuelas-Rosser who had called for amending the requirements. Agent Charlie Dy, who represents Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser, Brickman, and another Fil-Am Jeremiah Gray, had called for change back in January when it was clear that Fil-foreign players would have trouble acquiring the necessary documents.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/01/10/21/pba-brickman-two-other-fil-ams-might-not-be-eligible-for-rookie-draft">READ: Brickman, two other Fil-Ams might not be eligible for Rookie Draft</a></li></ul><p>&quot;Pinag-uusapan &#x27;yan,&quot; Marcial assured. &quot;Pag-aaralan namin lahat ng mga polisiya, kung anong pwede, para sa ikakabuti ng liga, para sa lahat.&quot;</p><p>Aside from the three players, all of whom previously suited up for Alab Pilipinas in the ASEAN Basketball League, other Fil-Ams who failed to submit their documents include big man Taylor Statham and forward Tyrus Hill.</p><p>PBA chairman Ricky Vargas vowed to look at &quot;several policies,&quot; including the league&#x27;s rules on players taking a leave of absence. This comes as his team, TNT Tropang GIGA, is rocked by the sabbatical of ace swingman Ray Parks Jr.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/03/10/21/pba-parks-has-yet-to-reach-out-to-tnt-since-sabbatical-announcement">READ: Parks has yet to reach out to TNT since sabbatical announcement</a></li></ul><p>&quot;We&#x27;ll inform our commissioner to take a look at these various cases,&quot; said Vargas. &quot;So one is -- what is a leave of absence? (That&#x27;s) No. 1. No. 2, I have a contract and I want to play somewhere else and my contract expired. Situations like, I&#x27;m fresh from college, I don&#x27;t want to be drafted and I just want to play for the national team.&quot;</p><p>&quot;These are all the issues facing us squarely as the PBA has gotten more and more universal,&quot; he added. &quot;Since there are a lot of good talents here, the world is looking at them also, especially in Asia. So all these will have to be reviewed and addressed.&quot;</p><div><strong>FROM THE ARCHIVES: </strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/NpYgi5Qwb-0?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div>

<p>The PBA on Tuesday said it will review its draft requirements -- among other policies -- after several Filipino-foreign players failed to submit the necessary documents for the upcoming draft.</p>

The PBA on Tuesday said it will review its draft requirements -- among other policies -- after several Filipino-foreign players failed to submit the necessary documents for the upcoming draft.

As Fil-foreign players miss out on draft, PBA set to revisit requirements

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As Fil-foreign players miss out on draft, PBA set to revisit requirements

Camille B. Naredo,

ABS-CBN News

Published March 10, 2021 04:46 PM PHT

Read More:

PBA

PBA Rookie Draft

Fil-foreign players

PBA Board of Governors

Ray Parks Jr.

Willie Marcial

Ricky Vargas

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