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    After Blatche, it's Kuya Marcus' turn to knock on PBA's door

    Why not?
    Dec 28, 2021
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    AFTER Andray Blatche, it's Kuya Marcus' turn to knock on the PBA's door.

    Just two days after Blatche's 'I wanna play' tweet to the PBA, another former Gilas Pilipinas naturalized player asked about the possibility of letting them play in Asia's first pro league, hopefully on a special exemption.

    "@pbaconnect when PBA letting the naturalized players play in the pba!!!" Marcus Douthit, 41, wrote in a tweet posted on Tuesday morning.

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    SEE ALSO

    However, PBA rules do not allow naturalized players to suit up in the league, except as imports as what Douthit did when he played briefly for Blackwater in 2015.

    The former Los Angeles Lakers draftee also played as an import for Air21 back in 2012 on a special exemption granted by then commissioner Chito Salud.

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      Marcus Douthit in action in the PBA as an import for Blackwater back in 2015.

      As Gilas' naturalized player, the Syracuse-born player led the national team to the championship in the 2012 Jones Cup in Taipei and the historic runner-up finish in the 2013 Fiba Asia Championship in Manila.

      However, the Providence alum was replaced by Blatche during Gilas' stint at the 2014 Fiba World Cup in Seville, Spain.

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        Without a doubt, allowing naturalized players to see action in the PBA can be mutually beneficial for both the Gilas Pilipinas national team program and the pro league, especially if they end up reinforcing teams in the bottom half of the totem pole.

        Agree?

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