SBP already in talks with Bennie Boatwright for possible Gilas Pilipinas stint

SMB’s Bennie Boatwright. Photo from PBA Images.

MANILA — The Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) officially announced on Monday that it has initiated talks with Bennie Boatwright to become a naturalized player for the Gilas Pilipinas men's basketball team.

They said in a statement that they have reached out to the former San Miguel Beermen import to tap him as Gilas’ naturalized import for future FIBA competitions due to him being "a good fit for Philippine basketball as he led his ball club to the championship with his overall leadership and talent."

“It is SBP’s philosophy to maintain a pool of naturalized players to provide the Philippine National Team with options for specific tournaments. The presence of a pool also ensures availability of naturalized players in case of injuries, scheduling issues, and other unforeseen incidents,” they added.

His naturalization is also in line with SBP’s plans as it "seeks to secure the future of the national team alongside working on its current goals."

The 27-year-old Boatwright, who is currently playing in China, "has expressed his desire and willingness to return to the PBA as soon as possible since he has developed a strong connection with the Philippines," according to the federation.

Gilas head coach Tim Cone also previously vouched for the one-time PBA champion import.

READ: Bennie Boatwright’s naturalization process for Gilas ‘about to start,’ says Al Panlilio

"I think he's a tremendous talent, he's got great size and he can play in and out. He's very versatile. Kinda reminds me of a young Justin [Brownlee], just like three or four inches taller so we'll see,” said the Barangay Ginebra coach on Sunday night.

"He's a young guy, and we have to get him into practice, into the system and everything else but it's a long way away," he added.

Despite this development, the SBP and Cone have maintained that Brownlee will still continue to be Gilas’ reinforcement in the upcoming FIBA tournaments. 

"Without a doubt, this is written in stone right now, Justin's our guy. He is gonna be his backup, just like Justin was a backup to Jordan Clarkson in the World Cup. We're gonna go with that at the moment,” said Cone.

”He's not even here yet, he's not even naturalized yet. I think he's in China at the moment, and I haven't talked to him personally about it.”

"We don't know when he's gonna be available, but it's not gonna happen until he gets his naturalized papers in,” he added.

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