Blatche can play in Asian Games
By Eddie Alinea
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 21 Aug 2014
Blactche.
An athlete?s eligibility is determined by the International Federation his or her sports association is affiliated with. This, former Philippine Olympic Committee president Celso Dayrit and former Asian Basketball Confederation (now FIBA-Asia) secretary general Mauricio ?Moying? Martelino assured yesterday by way of reacting to reports that naturalized basketball player Andray Blatche stands to be barred playing for the Philippine team in the coming Asian Games.
?Yeah, that?s what it should be,? Dayrit, current president of the Fencing Federation of Asia, said during yesterday?s phone patch interview with the ?Tropang BisTag radio program aired over DZEC.
?While the Asian Games is being organized by the Olympic Council of Asia, all athletes in all sports seeing action in the quadrennial meet must have the blessing by their IFs to be eligible to compete.?
?What OCA only needs is proof of an athletes? nationality which can easily be proven by the passport he?s holding,? Dayrit said. ?E naman na may passport na hawak-hawak si Blatche.?
Martelino, now a Samahang Basketbol Ng Pilipinas consultant, concurred with Dayrit?s pronouncement, saying it is the IF, in Blatche?s case, the FIBA-Asia that will be running the basketball tournament in the Asiad and, therefore, it is FIBA?S eligibility rule that must be followed.
Both Dayrit, a long-time lecturer of the International Olympic Committee Solidarity program, and Martelino argued that since FIBA international has endorsed the eligibility of the 6-foot-10 mainstay of the Brooklyn Nets to play in the coming World Cup of Basketball set in Spain later this month, it follows that he is also qualified to play in the Asian Games.
?We have in our hands documents purporting to show Blatche as a member of our national team to the World Cup, which we believe is enough proof of his citizenship,? Martelino said.
Martelino, nevertheless, told his interviewers that the SBP, headed by businessman-sportsman Manny V. Pangilinan, owner of the Talk ?N Text and Meralco teams in the professional league PBA, has written the OCA through the Philippine Olympic Committee seeking clarification on the matter.
?We have to do it through proper channel. The POC is the body recognized here by the IOC so, it?s but proper that we course our request for clarification to that entity,? Martelino pointed out.
Reports that came out in several newspapers (not the People?s Journal/People?s Tonight) that Blatche, who had just been granted Filipino citizen chip a few months ago by Philippine Congress could be barred from seeing action due to OCA?s three-year residency rule.
Dayrit though clarified that the OCA three-year residency rule APPLIES to an athlete who had carried the colors of a country not his birthplace as a naturalized citizen in the IOC-sanctioned games and, again, applied for citizenship of another country to see action in another IOC-recognized meet.
?And since Blatche, an American, will be representing the Philippines as a naturalized player for the first time, I don?t see any reason why he can?t compete,? Dayrit said. ?Now, if after representing the Philippines in the coming Asian Games, Blatche applied for naturalization in another country to represent that country, say in the 2016 Olympic Games, that?s the time he is barred.?
Dayrit said what probably led for media outfits to speculate on Blatche case was when the South Korean Basketball Federation withdrew the naturalization of long-time Korean Basketball League import Aaron Hayes.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Eddie Alinea.
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