Captain Kirk wants in; Foreign invasion looms

The inevitable has finally come to haunt the league after years of desperately trying to keep it at the backburner. A foreigner has come out of the woodwork, fanbase in tow, wanting to join the country’s premiere basketball organization.

Should the PBA open its doors to foreigners?

Kirk Long, the revered blonde shooting guard of the great Ateneo de Manila University basketball program, is knocking on the PBA’s doors in hopes of making it to next year’s draft. An ace defender and knockdown shooter, Long belongs to a short list of “complete package” players much like ADMU alumna and Talk ‘n’ Text “do it all sub” Larry Fonacier.

We’ve tackled this issue in 2010, and just like that unwanted ex-girlfriend, it has come back to haunt us until someone finally grows a set and turns it down or approves it (that’s you Mr. Commissioner and the rest of the PBA board).

But what kind of basketbol-blogger would we be if we didn’t come up with possible solutions that hopefully, would be read by the powers that be and considered in the whole scheme of things (or not)? Here’s a short list of what the PBA can do to protect itself from foreign applicants.

1. Minimum of 8-years residency

-         Sounds just about right for guys like Kirk Long who has played both high school and college ball in the country. This protects us from all the other imports that college teams have been recruiting lately (hello San Beda, UST, FEU) and builds familiarity with Filipino basketball fans and not just those in Manila alone.

-         It also protects schools and organization from wannabe thugs and malcontents because they are developed by local establishments at an early age instead of when they reach adulthood and just play for pay/ perks/ titles (and trust me, there have been quite a lot of unreported cases going around).

2. Maximum of 2 foreigners per team, but not on the floor together

-         And because we live in a league ruled by two opposing superpowers and about two (or three) independent franchises, they’re bound to bend the rules at some point so here’s our safety net. Maximum of two foreigners per team, but they are not to play alongside each other (differing from the MBA’s format wherein teams like the Laguna Lakers fielded in Chris Clay and Jeff Flowers at the same time).

3. All foreigners are to be drafted in the 2^nd round

-         Maybe we should’ve started with this. To protect our homegrown talent (even Fil-Ams), foreigners are to be drafted only from the second round onwards. The playing time would probably differ once the season starts, but priority should be given to Filipinos. This isn’t the NBA. This isn’t the NATIONAL basketball association. It’s the PBA. P for Philippines. Our boys like JVee Casio and Paul Lee should always come first. Keifer Ravena should enjoy the greatness of being recognized as a possible number 1 draft.

Those are the 3 arguments that KKS has if the PBA should consider a “foreign invasion.” Your thoughts?