Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 20) — A lawmaker is urging the House of Representatives to naturalize Ateneo Blue Eagles’ Angelo Kouame for the Philippine men’s basketball team.
Antipolo City 1st District Representative and Deputy Speaker Roberto Puno has filed House Bill 5951 which seeks to grant Philippine citizenship to Kouame, adding that the 20-year-old from Ivory Coast will be a great fit to the national squad for the 2023 FIBA World Cup.
The 6-foot-10 Kouame was an integral part of Ateneo’s three-peat in the UAAP men’s basketball tournament, including an unprecedented sweep in Season 82.
“We marveled at his performance that helped clinch a 16-0 sweep for the Ateneo Blue Eagles in the 82nd Season of the UAAP. Mr. Kouame may have had little knowledge of basketball before he came to our shores, but we cannot deny the immense potential he has shown by now,” the lawmaker said in a statement released Monday.
FIBA rules allows only one naturalized player in a national basketball team. The Philippine has fielded two naturalized players in international competitions so far — Marcus Douthit and Andray Blatche.
Puno is also suggesting the creation of a pool of naturalized players to boost the national team’s chances when it hosts the 2023 FIBA World Cup.
“This pool of players would be valuable to our national team because the team would have more naturalized players to field in the case of injuries,” he said.
“Such a resource would be useful because we would be able to match what we need to win from a roster of naturalized players. The choice would never be just one player. We could have Mr. Kouame and many other promising athletes there, ready to be assigned to a match as needed,” he added.
