Gilas Pilipinas survived Iran's fourth-quarter onslaught to score an Asian Games semifinal spot.
And this is not the first time he has said this.
In fact, he said the same thing during their 2023 FIBA World Cup run. Iran and Jordan finished 31st and 32nd, respectively, and scored 20 points and more blowouts against Brazil, France, and Spain.
Leading their charge is their Turkish coach Hakan Demir.
Iran is one of the few Asian countries that has veered away from naturalized players. However, nowadays, this has been a must. In the World Cup, China had Kyle Anderson, Japan had Josh Hawkinson, Lebanon had Omari Spellman, Jordan had Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, and Gilas Pilipinas had Jordan Clarkson.
In the Asian Games, Gilas has Justin Brownlee, Angelo Kouame, and Chris Ross as naturalized players, and of the three, JB inherited most of Clarkson's offense.
So, is Hakan Demir wrong here?
Well, yes and no.
Yes, in the sense that the Asian Games is a standalone tournament. Yes, some events have Paris Olympics ramifications but more or less, the only way a basketball team can enter the 2024 games is via the World Cup and the Olympic qualifiers. Asking FIBA during the FIBA World Cup might be one thing, but the same can't be said during the Asian Games.
With that said, it hits differently when your team is composed mainly of natural citizens rather than naturalized ones. That's one of the reasons why the 2013 Gilas win over Korea is so iconic. Marcus Douthit went down with an injury after the first half and while Gabe Norwood and Jimmy Alapag are Fil-Ams, they showed as much heart as Jayson Castro, Marc Pingris, Ranidel De Ocampo, and the entire Gilas squad. In some ways, we are rooting for Calvin Abueva and Terrence Romeo - because of what they can bring and the depths they would go through to get there.
We also can't be hypocrites. I remember when the PBA could care less of the FIBA-sanctioned games (or ABC, as it was once called) and we would read Quinito Henson's column about how shady the Qatar National Team is because they either have Brazilians or Africans in their roster. When the Bay Area Dragons had Myles Powell and Andrew Nicholson, we can't really say that they had an unfair advantage because the PBA gave them the go signal to have both imports. During the Northern Consolidated Cement days, not only did we have Chip Engelland, Dennis Still, and Jeff Moore, but the team also had an American coach in Ron Jacobs.
Hey, maybe this is an idea.
If they want to bar the naturalized players, then we have to get rid of the foreign coaches as well!
But this is a backward way of thinking. Nowadays, it's better to be called a Mama's Boy than a racist. In a time when globalization is the thing, the last thing you need to be is to become a patriotic douchebag. If you check out Brownlee and Kouame, they really lived in the Philippines. Kouame didn't really "eat and run" after he got his education while Brownlee is the reverse version of Jamelle Cornley.
Man, you could have been Rain or Shine's resident import.
You're like... the import version of Paul Lee... inside the court.
I guess one reason for this is that Iran has money for a foreign coach but is hesitant to give citizenship. Sometimes, this can be resolved in the realm of finance but most likely, I think it's a political thing. The teams with the most number of naturalized citizens are basically the teams with the most funding. Gilas Pilipinas is backed by MVP as well as SMC. Jordan Clarkson and reportedly Kai Sotto were given a good amount of "allowance" to represent the Philippines. Sure, most players have the intention to wear the colors for pride and honor but they also need to pay their bills.
Anyway, unless the Asian Games organizers in Doha restrict the naturalized players, nothing is going to change.