Basketball Final, Battle Between Jordan and Philippines

[Asian Games] Basketball Final is a Battle of Naturalized Players Between Jordan and the Philippines... What About our Country?

Naturalized player's '3-year residence rule' may be overlooked in OCA's authoritative interpretation.

Korea must go through review by the Ministry of Justice... ‘Moon Tae-jong’s son’ also needs results first.

The Hangzhou Asian Games men's basketball final will be played between the Philippines and Jordan.

Countries that claimed to be the leaders, including Korea, China, and Iran, were eliminated, and only two teams faced the final match, which will be held at the Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China, at 9 pm on the 6th (Korean time).

The characteristic of both teams is that naturalized players are the core of their strength.

Jordan is an ace player who is also familiar to Korean basketball fans. 카지노사이트

Ronde Hollis Jefferson (197 cm, USA), who played for professional basketball team Jeonju KCC (currently Busan KCC) in the 2022-2023 season, became a naturalized player in January of this year and joined Jordan.

Since 2015, he has played 319 games in the National Basketball Association (NBA) over 6 seasons, including the regular league and playoffs (PO), and also showed his presence at the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) World Cup held last month.

When he exploded for 39 points in the game against New Zealand, foreign media gave Hollis-Jefferson the title 'Jordan's Kobe Bryant' due to his similar appearance.

According to sports media ESPN, Hollis-Jefferson wanted the opportunity to play in the World Cup and actively pursued naturalization to an Asian country through her agent.

Hollis-Jefferson, who played her part in the World Cup, is also showing off in the Asian Games.

He played 35 minutes in the semifinals against Chinese Taipei, scoring 20 points and 15 rebounds.

Jordan, led by Hollis Jefferson, advanced to the finals with all five wins.

The Philippines, which defeated the host country China in the opposing match, also has its ace as a naturalized player.

Justin Brownlee (198 cm, USA) is a veteran born in 1988, but he saved the Philippines from crisis twice.

Brownlee, who exploded with 36 points in the quarterfinals against Iran and led the team to an 84-83 victory, showed an even more heroic performance in the semifinals against China.

The Philippines, which trailed 50-64 in the fourth quarter, made a dramatic comeback, winning 77-76, led by Brownlee, who scored 17 points.

The Philippines seemed destined for defeat as they fell behind by 7 points two minutes before the end of the game.

However, Brownlee scored 5 points in just over a minute, and even managed to score 3 points 24 seconds before the end, defeating China, which was aiming for the championship.

In fact, Brownlee is the second naturalized player the Philippines has entered.

The Philippines, which already has center Angelo Kouame as a naturalized player, succeeded in naturalizing Brownlee in January of this year, like Jordan.

Brownlee is considered the best player in Philippine professional basketball (PBA) history.

He entered the PBA in 2016 and won Most Valuable Player (MVP) five times in seven seasons.

The Senate and House of Representatives of Congress worked together for naturalization, and eventually President Ferdinand Marcos signed a special law in January, making Brownlee a member of Philippine basketball.

What drew attention in relation to Hollis-Jefferson and Brownlee was the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) regulations.

According to the Korea Sports Council, the latest charter of the OCA, which hosts the Asian Games, still includes a provision in the competition eligibility regulations (Article 53) that requires a person to reside in the country they wish to represent for at least three years.

Article 53, Paragraph 2 lists three cases in parallel to qualify for participation.

Those who were born in the country (a), citizens or nationals who have lived in the country for more than 3 years (b), and naturalized athletes (c).

Next, in Article 53, Paragraph 3, the OCA states that “entrants born outside Asia must meet provisions ‘b and c’ (b & c).”

If this is interpreted strictly, even naturalized players would need a residency requirement of more than three years.

At the time of the 2014 Incheon Asian Games, this provision was strictly observed.

The Philippines attempted to allow Andrei Blatch, a naturalized player who played in the NBA between 2005 and 2014, to participate, but it was canceled due to the '3-year residence rule'.

This provision became a key issue when Korea's Laguna obtained Korean nationality through special naturalization in 2018 and participated in the Asian Games in Jakarta and Palembang.

It is known that Laguna's history as a foreign professional basketball player at the time, having been active in Korea since 2012, was taken into consideration.

If the similar history of Brownlee of the Philippines is taken into consideration, there is no particular problem with his participation under OCA regulations.

However, Hollis Jefferson's history of residence and activities in Jordan is not clearly confirmed.

In this regard, it should be noted that the phrase ‘where applicable’ is attached at the end of Article 53, Paragraph 3 of the OCA Charter in question.

This is a phrase often used to allow certain exceptions in various contracts and agreements.

It is an expression that leaves room for discretion rather than a strict interpretation, and it is possible that the OCA used this to make an 'authoritative interpretation' that allows participation only if only one of b (3 years of residence) and c (naturalization) of Article 53, Paragraph 2 is met.

If restrictions are weakened like this at the Asian Games in the future, will there be room for Korea to use more naturalized athletes?

La Gun-ah (KCC), who has been under Korea's goal since 2018, is also in her mid-30s and her skills are declining, so there is an urgent need to find a 'successor'.

However, the answer from the Korea Basketball Association is negative.

This is because it is difficult to pass the Ministry of Justice's 'special naturalization' screening regardless of whether or not you participate in the Asian Games.

In fact, unlike the Middle East, where naturalized players often appear, or the Philippines, where Congress stepped in to help Brownlee, passing this screening is a prerequisite for using naturalized players in Korea.

An association official said, "Even if the '3-year residence rule' for the Asian Games has disappeared, there are not many players who meet the Ministry of Justice's standards."

He added, "In order to be considered, several areas such as income and international performance must be proven."

“There are some aspects of reality that are different from those in the Middle East and the Philippines,” he said.

He added, “We also tried to push for the special naturalization of Jaerin Stevenson, the son of Tae-jong Moon, who played for the national team, but he did not play in the National Basketball Association, so he could not meet the requirements right now.

“Income is also a problem, but he is still a promising student athlete and has no international achievements.”

Taejong Moon is a shooter born to an American father and a Korean mother.

He started playing in Korean professional basketball from the 2010-2011 season and continued until the 2018-2019 season.

He played for 9 seasons.

His son, Stevenson, is currently a forward with a height of 208 cm.

His skills are so outstanding that he was recently evaluated as being in the top 10 in the U.S.

Among his classmates who will enter college in 2024.

American University Sports Association (NCAA) He is about to enter the prestigious University of Alabama.