IN THE last University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Men’s Basketball Finals, numerous Filipino-foreign talents were on display. Chris Koon and Matthew Daves provided the spark off the bench in their attempt to help Ateneo capture its fourth straight UAAP title. This was foiled by the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons, due in part to the clutch shots made by blue-chip recruits Zavier Lucero and James Spencer.

This phenomenon of overseas recruits showcasing their incredible talent is not a new scene in collegiate basketball. The rise in foreign recruitment continues to be a blueprint for UAAP schools looking to boost their rosters.

Building a dynasty

As the Ateneo Men’s Basketball Team houses players from different parts of the world, Ateneo is one of the universities with the most overseas recruits. Despite a bitter ending to Season 84 and the departure of key veterans SJ Belangel, Gian Mamuyac, and Raffy Verano, the Katipunan-based squad will have no shortage of adept player options this upcoming Season 85.

The first domino to fall in the series of Ateneo’s recent overseas recruitment was in 2021 when 6-foot-7 forward Kai Ballungay committed to the Blue Eagles after playing one year for California State University in Turlock, USA. After serving residency throughout UAAP Season 84, Ballungay has already shown a preview of what he can bring to the Katipunan-based squad in the coming years.

An intelligent scorer with the perfect size to overwhelm smaller defenders and create space on the floor, Ballungay led Ateneo to the gold medal in the recently concluded World Universities Basketball Series (WUBS). The FilAm Sports USA tournament standout showed off his skills and was hailed as the tournament’s MVP. Ballungay’s best performance came in the nail-biting match against Chinese Taipei’s National Chengchi University, where Ballungay tallied 21 points, seven rebounds, two assists, two steals, and one block in the come-from-behind win.

Another sought-after recruit that Ateneo successfully secured is Paul Garcia. A talented two-way guard, the 5-foot-11 playmaker is expected to fill in the hole that lead-guard SJ Belangel left upon his graduation. During his first outing with the Blue Eagles in WUBS, the Filipino-American immediately made an impression as he scored a team-high 17 points against Indonesia’s Universitas Pelita Harapan.

While making improvements to their player rotation for the next UAAP season, the Blue Eagles have also been stockpiling talent for the team’s future. Eligible to play come Season 86, Mason Amos, Kyle Gamber, and Jared Brown have all recently committed to play for the Blue and White.

Standing at 6-foot-7 inches, Amos will give more height to the Ateneo frontcourt. Meanwhile, Gamber and Brown are two versatile guards who will direct the offense after next year’s departures of core players Dave Ildefonso and BJ Andrade. It is also worth noting that both Amos and Gamber are members of the Gilas Under-18 Youth National Team, which competed in Tehran, Iran last August 21 to 28 to determine the four nations to represent Asia in 2023’s Under-19 International Basketball Federation World Cup.

Despite the notable publicity that these foreign recruits have received over the years, debates among the Filipino faithful regarding their impact on the growth of local basketball remain.

Strengthening the Band of Brothers

Alongside the line of foreign athletes coming in the country are the discussions on whether or not introducing new players to the local scene would benefit homegrown talent. Those who oppose overseas scouting believe that local talent is underutilized due to unfair distribution of playing time and exposure between the local and international players.

In spite of the valid concerns posed by those against overseas recruitment, the positive results brought by these foreign prospects seem to outweigh the disadvantages that they speak of. The phenomenon does not only boost the level of competition in the UAAP, but it also enables local cagers to improve their skills by working with and playing against international recruits.

Homegrown Blue Eagle Sean Quitevis tends to lean towards the latter argument, in that he views talent brought in from overseas as a prime opportunity for growth. “It’s not Fil-foreign versus homegrown players. For me, it’s more of Filipinos from different backgrounds coming together for the love of the game,” he claimed.

Although Quitevis has seen limited playing time in the past seasons, Quitevis did not view the newly acquired Filipino-Foreign athletes as stumbling blocks to his performance. Instead of getting discouraged by his limited chances, he would rather focus on what is best for Ateneo’s program.

“As long as they [overseas recruits] have the right skill set, they deserve the playing time. At the end of the day, the most important thing for me is what is the best option for the team.”

For Filipino-American Chris Koon, furthering his basketball career overseas was not originally part of his plans. Nevertheless, he welcomed the chance to play for Ateneo with open arms because of the benefits it presented. Aside from the career opportunities that have opened up for him such as playing professionally in other countries and in the local leagues, Koon relishes the opportunity to compete against the country’s premier collegiate athletes.

“With Fil-Am players coming in, it will either highlight the good or the bad in the system that they go into,” Koon said. “When you go up with these guys at practice, you gotta get better. Even us Filipino-foreigners when we see the amazing talent players have here, it makes us want to improve as well,” he added.

Even though they come from different backgrounds, both Quitevis and Koon emphasized that there is nothing wrong with Filipino-foreign talents coming into the UAAP to chase their hoop dreams. They echoed that this phenomenon, which fosters healthy competition and mutual learning, helps both of their games reach greater heights.

Assessing the future of basketball 

With the stage almost set for Season 85, fresh foreign recruits will once again enter the court to give their all for their new schools. Given the constant injection of brand new talent, it is safe to say that the tournament’s current landscape is one where Filipino-foreign talents are firmly integrated into all eight universities’ respective systems.

The addition of international talent to UAAP teams does not only expand the culture of basketball in the country, but also raises the level of play that the homegrown talents can benefit from. May it be going toe-to-toe with recruits in training or competing against opposing talent, the local players are exposed to varying skill sets that they can pick up on to improve their game.

At the end of the day, all competitors possess a similar goal of bettering themselves on and off the hardwood. Regardless of the background of an individual player, a good team dynamic will always be a top priority in the goal of winning games in basketball, especially in a distinguished league like the UAAP.