Absence of naturalized players questioned at Senate after Gilas' Asian Games exit

Sen. Bong Go holds a press conference to answer allegations linking him with controversial government contractors at the Senate on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025.

The STAR / Jesse Bustos

MANILA, Philippines — Gilas Pilipinas' early elimination from the 2026 Asian Games has prompted questions in the Senate over the absence and availability of the national men's basketball team's naturalized players.

During the Senate session on Tuesday, September 15, lawmakers questioned why naturalized players were unavailable after the defending champions failed to advance past the group stage in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan.

Senate Committee on Sports Chairman Sen. Bong Go specifically pointed to the absence of naturalized basketball player Bennie Boatwright.

"Sabi ko, nasaan na 'yung naturalized player natin na minadali nga nating ipinasa rito sponsored by Sen. Kiko Pangilinan. In fact, isa pa nga 'yon sa reason na nagpatawag ng special session dito sa Senado. Pero nagtataka po tayo kung bakit hindi po naihabol... Nakakalungkot po, sayang," Go said.

(I said, where is our naturalized player whose naturalization we rushed to pass here, sponsored by Sen. Kiko Pangilinan? In fact, that was one of the reasons a special session was called here in the Senate. But we're wondering why he wasn't able to make it in time. It's sad, such a waste.)

Go noted that the Senate had expedited Boatwright's naturalization process during a special session in an effort to ensure his eligibility for national team duty.

"Nasaan na 'yung ibang mga naturalized players na ipinasa natin dito na sana makakatulong dahil sila 'yung malalaki at maaaring makatulong sa atin sa rebound. Isa po ito sa titingnan natin, Mr. President, kung sakaling magdinig tayo rito sa Senado. What went wrong? Ano pong nangyari sa mga naturalized players natin na maaaring magamit natin? Dahil ginawa po natin ang trabaho natin dito na maipasa rin po ito," Go said.

(Where are the other naturalized players whose naturalization we passed here and who could have helped us because of their size, particularly in rebounding? This is one of the things we will look into, Mr. President, if we hold a hearing in the Senate. What went wrong? What happened to the naturalized players we could have used? We did our job here to pass these measures.)

Why they were absent

Boatwright's naturalization measure was approved by Congress during a special Senate session on June 17.

The measure later became Republic Act 12323 on August 30 after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. neither signed nor vetoed it within the constitutional period.

However, Boatwright was unable to secure the necessary documents, including a Philippine passport, in time to join Gilas for the Asian Games.

The Senate action on Boatwright's naturalization came after the measure was delayed when regular sessions failed to proceed in early June amid a leadership dispute in the chamber.

The questions over Gilas' roster came a day after the Philippines suffered a 105-61 loss to China, a 44-point defeat that eliminated the defending champions from the tournament.

Gilas needed to avoid losing by more than 37 points to remain in contention for a quarterfinal berth but instead finished the group stage with a 1-2 record.

It marked the first time the Gilas Pilipinas program failed to reach the Asian Games quarterfinals.

The early exit came three years after the Justin Brownlee-led squad secured the country's first Asian Games men's basketball gold medal in 61 years.