CHICAGO -- "My college career comes to an end. I will pursue my NBA dream and start my journey by playing professional ball in Goyang Sono Skygunners and developing my game even more."
Twenty-one days since Kevin Quiambao confirmed the UAAP's worst-kept secret throughout Season 87, the two-time league MVP's launch to the Korean Basketball League (KBL) is stuck on the flight deck.
"Not yet," Converge coach Charles Tiu, a close confidant who coached Quiambao at Strong Group Athletics (SGA) last year, said on Monday afternoon when asked if the former La Salle ace had already departed Manila.
The delay is not for lack of enthusiasm on Quiambao's part. Lord knows, the sweet-shooting forward is eager to uplift the Skygunners squad that is currently in eighth place with a 9-16 record.
While Quiambao has proven to be adept at extricating himself from the shackles of multiple defenders, he sure can't stop one thing that government agencies are often notorious for.
Bureaucratic red tape.
According to two FIBA agents that I've spoken to, Quiambao is apparently still waiting for his visa to travel to Korea, a process that could take up to four weeks when factoring in the just-concluded Holidays.
VISA PROCESSING IS RIGID AND SLOW.
If you're wondering about the snail's pace, here's an idea.
When a player signs a KBL contract, the team immediately applies for a work visa on the player's behalf. In KQ's case, the process likely did not commence until after Season 87 officially ended with Game Three of the Finals last December 16,
The next step would have been for Quiambao to proceed to the Korea Visa Application Center at the BGC in Taguig where he is supposed to surrender his Philippine passport and submit the necessary documents related to his Korean employment.
This is one of the choke points in the entire process as the visa center does its due diligence to ascertain that KQ's paperwork are in order.
But even after his Korean work visa is approved, some work still needs to be done.
The next step will be a visit to the office of the Department of Migrant Workers where Quiambao will need to secure what my sources refer to as the overseas employment certificate.
And given that the 23-year old baller is a celebrity with a lot of name recognition, this tail-end of the process should be a breeze.
Long story short, only time -- not hiccups -- is putting Quiambao's overseas playing career on hold.
MALONZO MYSTERY DEEPENS
The enigma of Jamie Malonzo not playing yesterday despite being recently reactivated has been solved, kind of.
Ginebra coach Tim Cone told SPIN.ph the reason: "It's about getting into game shape for him."
What the hell?
The Ginebra star's weight gain has been so much fodder on social media that Malonzo felt compelled to address the issue.
"I've been bulking up, " he told SPIN.ph's Gerry Ramos, adding that it was necessary after surgery.
I'm not going to argue with the addition of weight, it's how much weight has been added that concerns me.
Look, I don't have a medical degree and I sure don't carry a nutritionist's license. But I know what fat looks like when I see one because I myself carry some unwanted pounds.
I was one of the fiercest defenders of Malonzo when he got into a physical altercation with another guy at a KFC outlet last March in the middle of a Gilas homestand. He even thanked me for it through an SBP official.
Won't give him a pass this time.
You're a professional athlete, you can bulk up, rehab and get into game shape inside of nine months. It's your job, that's why you are getting paid a reported monthly salary of P800,000 a month per my sources.
Japeth Aguilar has been hurt before but he's always managed to come back and assumed his duties at Ginebra and the national team with no drama.
Agular is a real Ginebra star, the stud that brings the lunch pail to work and sets an example to NSD Nation.
I'm not so sure of Jamie Malonzo.
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