OVER the last few weeks, numerous fan pages on Facebook have grown excited about the prospects of Gilas Pilipinas naturalized player Ange Kouame being granted an exemption by Fiba and recognized as a local player.
Is it possible?
While such prospects are dependent solely on Fiba, it is not without precedent. In fact, all the social-media chatter around Kouame was obviously triggered by Gilas playing a Chinese Taipei side that included guard Mohammed Al Bachir Gadiaga in the last window of the Asia Cup qualifiers.
Gadiaga, a 6-2 guard who was born in Japan to a Senegalese father and American mother, was raised in Taiwan where he finished high school before playing for Shih Hsin University in the University Basketball Association (UBA).
The 26-year old Gadiaga suited up for Chinese-Taipei as a naturalized player before being granted an exemption by Fiba and recognized as a local based on his educational background, enabling Taiwan to play him alongside naturalized player Brandon Gilbeck.
Kouame has more or less the same situation as Gadiaga.
The 6-foot-11 center arrived from Côte d'Ivoire in 2016 to study at Multiple Intelligence International School along Katipunan, where he got his high-school diploma in May 2018.
Kouame moved to Ateneo as a true rookie at age 18, becoming the first foreign student athlete to win UAAP Rookie of the Year over the likes of Dave Ildefonso and CJ Cansino in Season 81 before ending his college career with three championships with the Blue Eagles.
READ How Filipino is Ange Kouame?
The 27-year old was granted Filipino citizenship by Congress in 2021, enabling him to beef up Gilas initially in the Tab Baldwin era before becoming part of the history-making, gold medal-winning Asian Games team under Tim Cone.
“For sure, I’m looking forward to it,” Kouame told SPIN.ph when asked about the possibility of gaining a Fiba exemption under the same privileges that enabled Gadiaga to play for Chinese-Taipei as a local.
If ever, such an exemption will be a first for the Philippines, although at least two Fil-foreign players, including Greg Slaughter in 2018, have previously been granted exemptions by Fiba from the rule that mandates players holding dual citizenships to secure passports of the nation they want to represent before turning 16.
Fiba granting Kouame an exemption will be huge for Gilas, more so with Kai Sotto sidelined by a knee injury and ruled out of the Fiba Asia Cup in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia in August.
Wll Fiba grant Gilas a reprieve. Kouame sure hopes so.
“Every naturalized player dreams of it," he said.
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