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    Why Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser is listed as a Fil-Am and brod Matt a local

    As a Fil-foreigner, Brandon faces tougher scrutiny ahead of PBA draft than his brother
    Dec 22, 2020

    BRANDON Ganuelas-Rosser is looking to follow in the footsteps of his brother, San Miguel winger Matt, as he throws his name in the aspirants' list for the upcoming PBA Rookie Draft.

    However, doing so is easier said than done as Brandon is facing a more difficult process in his quest to enter the league.

    In the eyes of the PBA, Matt is considered a local-born applicant when he applied in 2014, while Brandon is a Fil-foreigner.

    That's despite the two being brothers.

    How so?

    Well, Matt was actually born in Olongapo City back in 1990. When Mt. Pinatubo erupted a year later, their parents James Rosser, a retired US Navy, and Gina Ganuelas decided to move from Subic to the United States.

    It was in San Diego when Brandon was born in 1994 as the Ganuelas-Rossers settled down in the US.

    PBA rules recognize players born in the country as locals, while those outside of the country, no matter if both parents are full-blooded Filipinos, as Fil-foreigners.

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    Matt studied at California State Polytechnic University before being shortlisted in the Gilas Pilipinas pool in 2012 and won a gold medal in the 2013 Southeast Asian Games in Naypyidaw.

    That Gilas stint made his path to the pros a smooth one as he saw action for NLEX in the PBA D-League before getting picked fourth overall by Talk 'N Text in the 2014 PBA Draft.

    Brandon, meanwhile, went to UC Riverside and eventually got to the country in 2018 as a member of San Miguel Alab Pilipinas, playing in the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) for the past two seasons.

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      However, despite having a Philippine passport, the 6-foot-7 banger still needs to accomplish the citizenship requirements for Fil-foreign hopefuls - the Certificate of Recognition as Filipino Citizen and the Affirmation of Recognition as Filipino Citizen - from the Department of Justice and the Bureau of Immigration.

      It's the task Brandon and his party will have to furnish before the January 27 deadline in his hopes to join his older brother Matt in the PBA.

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