THE PBA has extended the deadline for submission of documents for Fil-foreigners who applied for the 2021 draft to March 5.
PBA commissioner Willie Marcial said the decision was made by the board on Thursday in order to give the applicants ample time to submit the required documents needed for their application in the draft.
Out of the 31 Fil-foreign rookies who applied, 18 of them still have to pass documents to make them eligible for the draft.
The deadline is exactly nine days before March 14 when a special and regular draft will be held under a virtual environment.
Marcial said the extension was given due to media reports that Fil-foreigners were having problems securing and submitting documents to the league due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“May nababalitaan ako na nasa US kami, hindi kami makapunta diyan, nagkaroon ng COVID o nagka-Pasko so nag-decide ako na i-request ko sa governors ‘yun. Wala namang formal request sa pagkakaalam ko pero sa mga nababasa ko, ganun so inextend natin to March 5,” said Marcial.
The Department of Justice affirmation and the Bureau of Immigration certification are just two of the documents that need to be submitted by Fil-foreigners to the league which will serve as proof of their Filipino lineage.
The PBA didn’t reveal the 18 players who are still ineligible at the moment for the draft but it has been reported that Jason Brickman, Jeremiah Grey, and Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser have not submitted their DOJ and BI documents.
Brickman, Grey, and Ganuelas-Rosser are possible first-rounders following their stint with Alab Pilipinas in the Asean Basketball League last year.
But Brickman is seen as one of the top point guards of this draft class with his vast experience in Europe as well as in Asia where he had played for Malaysia and Thailand in the ABL in previous seasons.
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