Malick Diouf and Elizabeth Jeanette Means moved a step closer to becoming Filipino citizens after the Senate approved on third and final reading separate bills seeking to naturalize the two Gilas 3x3 prospects.
One step closer.
Malick Diouf and Elizabeth Jeanette Means inched nearer to Filipino citizenship after the Senate approved on third and final reading separate bills seeking to grant their naturalization on Monday, March 16.
The Senate passed House Bill Nos. 6640 and 6641, paving the way for the two Gilas Pilipinas 3x3 prospects to gain Filipino citizenship.
Diouf and Means both appeared before the Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights on Tuesday, March 3, marking the first step in their naturalization bids in the upper chamber.
[RELATED: Malick Diouf, Elizabeth Means Gilas naturalization bids move forward in Senate]
The 27-year-old Diouf won the UAAP Season 84 men’s basketball title with the UP Fighting Maroons in 2022 and was named Finals MVP.
A year later, he added the league MVP award to his résumé, though the Diliman-based squad fell short against Ateneo in the finals.
Means, on the other hand, built her game in the United States, where she played collegiate basketball for NCAA Division II school Westminster University.
With the latest move, the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) welcomed the Senate’s move, calling it another positive step for the sport in the country.
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Pao Ambat earned his journalism degree from Cavite State University in 2022.
Passionate about sports from a young age, he primarily covers the NBA for One Sports, while also assisting in reporting on the PVL, PBA, UAAP, and other leagues.