SAMAHANG Basketbol ng Pilipinas president Al S. Panlilio was left impressed after his first meeting with Gilas Pilipinas naturalization prospect Bennie Boatwright on Saturday.
Panlilio had a chance to size up the San Miguel import away from the court over lunch at the Fairways Grill of the Manila Golf and Country Club in Makati with Gilas Pilipinas coach Tim Cone, Gilas team manager Richard del Rosario and SBP executive director Erika Dy, according to the SBP website.
READ Bennie Boatwright says Gilas offer was a no-brainer
Needless to say, the SBP chief liked what he saw.
“Bennie is very mild-mannered, maamo yung character niya, very respectable," said Panlilio, who later relayed his initial impressions to SBP chairman emeritus Manny V. Pangilinan and SBP vice president Ricky P. Vargas in a curt text message.
"It seems we have the right guy.”
The 6-foot-10, 235-lb Boatwright flew in from China where he played for the Shanxi Loongs in the Chinese Basketball Association to get the ball rolling on what is expected to be a long and tedious naturalization process.
The good news is, he has time, since Justin Brownlee will play the role of Gilas naturalized player in the July 2-7, 2024 Olympic Qualifying Tournament in the capital Riga in Latvia.
“I told him [Boatwright] that he’s a bigger, younger version of Brownlee,” said Panlilio. “He’s very excited to be chosen, to be part of the Gilas journey.”
A godson of former PBA import Francois Wise, Boatwright made an appearance at the Philsports Arena on Friday to watch San Miguel play Converge in the Philippine Cup and later talked with reporters.
“It started with a couple of players, they were mentioning me,” Boatwright said. “After we played Barangay Ginebra, Boss Al (Chua, SMC sports director) asked me if I was interested. And I said ‘for sure.’ Ever since then, the ball has been rolling.”
No-brainer
Boatwright said it was an easy decision to make.
“For sure, very easy decision. It was a no-brainer,” he said. “As the opportunity came and the experience of playing in the Philippines, you can’t say no to that.”
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