Filipino Basketball Legend Fully Supports Young Hoop Talents Going Abroad

The Philippines is arguably the most basketball-crazed country in the Asian region, which is why it comes as no surprise when some of their youngsters have been offered contracts to play overseas.

Prominent Filipino youth players like Thirdy Ravena and Dwight Ramos now play in Japan’s B.League, while college gunner SJ Belangel opted to forego the last two years of his eligibility to play at the collegiate level to suit up in the Korean Basketball League.

Add in the fact that there is a huge possibility that 2017 FIBA Under-16 Asian Championship Mythical First Team member Kai Sotto is likely to be drafted in the second round of the NBA draft, the explosion of talent from the island-nation is certainly eye-opening.

The International Business Times was able to have a conversation with Filipino basketball icon Kenneth Duremdes this past weekend as the Manny Pacquiao-backed Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League’s (MPBL) official launch of its partnership with Manila-based sports betting website OKBet.

Duremdes, now serving as the commissioner of the MBPL, was asked about his opinion of whether the current generation of Filipino cagers can be considered export-worthy.

“I believe, one hundred percent. There are a ton of opportunities outside the country and MPBL is one of the [local] leagues that is helping in developing players,” he quipped.

“We have produced a lot of players who have gone to the [Philippine Basketball Association] and hopefully someday, we can produce players through the MPBL program who can possibly be recruited to play abroad. That will be our pride.”

His comments are certainly a different tune when compared to that of the country’s top organization in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) as they want to keep its homegrown talent on the country’s soil.

The most notable case in this situation is that of college hoops star-turned-PBA player Kiefer Ravena, the older brother of the aforementioned Thirdy, who was set to play in Japan with the Shiga Lakestars.

However, the oldest league in Asia was adamant about Ravena holding up his side of the bargain after having just signed a three-year deal with his PBA team, the NLEX Road Warriors, before agreeing to terms with the Lakestars.

Ravena was later then given the all-clear by the league’s board of governors a month after the issue first arose.

For a country that has been gunning for international recognition from its peers, having its best players suit up for teams abroad is only going to improve their skills while also bringing back home what they have learned to apply in their contests against regional powerhouses like China and South Korea.

Duremdes later doubled down on this line of thinking.

“There’s a lot of players right now that I can see who are capable of playing overseas. One thing though is that they have a lot of options. It will again depend on the player to play where he wants. He can come up to the PBA or he will make his way overseas,” he explained.

Developing the best basketball players that are more than capable of playing overseas is one of the main goals for Duremdes and the MPBL as the country looks to regain its status as one of the most respected programs in the world.

“The Filipino people will be happy, not just us in the MPBL, if we can produce players that will be recruited and recognized for their talent overseas,” he ended