MANILA, Philippines -- The Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) on Monday formally asked for legislative support to naturalize at least two players for the men's national basketball team.

SBP president Al Panlilio appeared in front of the Senate Committee on Sports to give updates on the country's hosting of the FIBA Basketball World Cup next year as well as the preparations of Gilas Pilipinas for its upcoming tournaments.

Panlilio assured lawmakers that the national federation has secured the commitment of basketball stakeholders for the World Cup. The PBA, in particular, will hold just two conferences next year to give way for the hosting. Players -- including those in overseas leagues -- are fully committed to Gilas as well.

However, Panlilio admitted that they will need support from lawmakers when it comes to fielding naturalized players. Filipino-American guard Jordan Clarkson served as Gilas' naturalized player during the fourth window of the FIBA World Cup Asian qualifiers, but he will not be available in the fifth window in November and the sixth window in January.

"At the time na hindi available si Jordan Clarkson, gusto natin lumalaban pa rin tayo na malakas ang team," Gilas Pilipinas head coach Chot Reyes said during Monday's hearing.

As part of his presentation, Panlilio said that Gilas "needs legislative support in the form of facilitated naturalization of a number of qualified foreign player candidates to strengthen the team line-up."

The SBP still has Ateneo de Manila University center Ange Kouame in the national team pool, but Panlilio said they want to propose two more players as candidates for naturalization -- Barangay Ginebra's resident import Justin Brownlee, and Cameron Oliver, who will be TNT's import for the upcoming PBA Commissioner's Cup.

Panlilio noted that in the Philippines, naturalization takes a long time, while other countries have a much shorter process. Reyes, for his part, stressed that they will need a naturalized player even for the Southeast Asian Games next May in Cambodia, given how neighboring nations have beefed up their basketball rosters.

"Sa May, sa SEA Games, if we have a Justin Brownlee, malaki pag-asa natin to regain the gold. Ang mga kalaban natin, may mga naturalized players," he said.

Brownlee has long been a candidate for naturalization, while Oliver is a newer name. The 6-foot-8 forward played for the University of Nevada and had stints in the NBA G League and the Atlanta Hawks in the NBA.

"Si Brownlee, kumpleto na ang papers. Si Cameron Oliver is in the process of completing his requirements for naturalization," Reyes said.

The Senate assured the basketball stakeholders of their full support not just for the naturalization process but also for the country's hosting of the FIBA World Cup.

"We move heaven and earth to support our national team," said Senator Joel Villanueva.

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