Bennie Boatwright clears path to possible Gilas Pilipinas debut

San Miguel Beermen Bennie Boatwright. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines– The door is now open for Bennie Boatwright to possibly make his Gilas Pilipinas debut sometime later this year after a bill for his naturalization lapsed into law.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. neither signed nor vetoed the bill after Aug. 31, thus paving the way for Boatwright to possibly suit up in the fifth window of the Fiba World Cup Asian Qualifiers in November.

READ: Bennie Boatwright stays patient on Gilas Pilipinas naturalization

Boatwright, however, will have to process his Philippine passport and take an Oath of Allegiance before his citizenship becomes official, thus ruling out any chance of reinforcing Gilas for the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.

Nonetheless, Gilas coach Tim Cone is thrilled that Boatwright could soon get his chance at joining the team.

“Bennie is a great guy and will be a great representative for the country. We’re happy he finally received his papers,” Cone said.

The 6-foot-10 became a candidate for naturalization in 2024, shortly after reinforcing San Miguel Beer to that year’s PBA Commissioner’s Cup title.

But the process took longer, largely due to an injury, before getting the nod of both the House of Representatives and the Senate a few months ago.

With Boatwright’s impending Gilas stint, the team will soon have an additional option at the naturalized player spot, especially now with Justin Brownlee nursing an injury that kept him out of the recent Fiba World Cup Asian Qualifiers window.