Foreign athletes, out muna sa calendar ng Ateneo coach

ni VA - @Sports | December 6, 2020

Hindi kukuha o magdadagdag ng bagong foreign student-athlete si Ateneo coach Tab Baldwin kahit pa mabigyan na ng Filipino citizenship ang kanilang Ivorian center na si Angelo Kouame.

Base kasi sa kasalukuyang UAAP rules ay dalawa lamang ang klasipikasyon ng kanilang mga atleta at ito ay ang Filipino o dayuhan. “I’ve heard the same rumors and we have not discussed it. I can only tell you how I feel about that. I don’t know what the UAAP’s view of it will be, but they are within their rights to look at it on an individual basis and judge it that way,”ani Baldwin, na siya ring program director ng Gilas Pilipinas. “I can tell you as the coach of the team that I would not be looking to add another import player. I won’t be taking advantage of Ange being a ‘local’ just because possibly the rules have not considered that scenario yet.”

Malapit ng maging naturalized Filipino citizen si Kouame dahil hinihintay na lang ang pag-apruba kapwa ng Kongreso at ng Senado sa kanyang naturalization. Ayon kay Baldwin,ang dahilan ng naturalization ng 6-foot-10 na si Kouame na may tatlong taon pa ng eligibility sa Ateneo ay dahil sa national interest at ito'y upang makapaglaro para sa Gilas Pilipinas. Hindi rin aniya nito mababago kung bakit sya ni-recruit ng Ateneo upang maging foreign student na kakatawan sa kanilang eskuwelahan sa UAAP. Ayon sa UAAP rules, bawat varsity team ay piwedeng magkaroon ng isang foreign student-athlete maliban sa beach volleyball at 3×3 basketball.

“For me, I think I would rather have our team play on the same basis as every other team, and every team has one foreign student-athlete." “Once Ange legitimately changes his nationality, it does not really change the perspective on why he was brought to the country which is for the college basketball. I would not be in favor of exploiting that loophole to try and gain a competitive advantage for the team,” wika pa ni Baldwin.