EVEN Kymani Ladi isn’t sure if he’ll suit up for Gilas Pilipinas in the 33rd Southeast Asian (SEA) Games.
The one-and-done Ateneo forward told SPIN.ph that he doesn’t know if he’ll get the green light amid mounting confusion over the SEA Games Organizing Committee’s flip-flopping rules on naturalized and Fil-foreign players.
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But as far as Ladi is concerned, all his paperwork is in order to be eligible for the biennial meet.
“I’m not really sure, honestly,” he told SPIN.ph. “I don’t know much about it, so I don’t want to put in my input just yet. We’re just waiting for the FIBA rules [to be clarified].
“I already sent in all my documents, and they’ve been submitted. We’ll see what Thailand decides with the FIBA rules.”
Since UAAP Season 88 kicked off last September, and has now ended for the Blue Eagles after a 72-78 loss to archrival La Salle, Ladi stayed focused on Ateneo and has yet to join the rest of the Gilas pool in any capacity.
Whether he’ll suit up in the coming days despite the uncertainty remains to be seen.
“We’ll see. Just waiting on them,” he said.
The Thailand Basketball Association held a meeting on Wednesday to clarify lingering questions surrounding the eligibility of naturalized players in the tournament, including Justin Brownlee and Ange Kouame of Gilas.
For Ladi, however, the focus is on the FIBA rule requiring players to secure passports before turning 16.
The interpretation of that rule could directly affect the outgoing Blue Eagle, who only obtained his Philippine passport last year at age 24.
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