PBA na ulit... (continued)

**baludoy** · January 27th, 2018 10:05 AM

^ hindi ka pala magaling. Akala ko genuine know it all ka pa naman. Na disappoint ako sa iyo 😢

when you look into the abyss, the abyss looks into you

**shadow** · January 27th, 2018 11:10 AM

Originally Posted by kagalingan

naniwala talaga ako kasi 3years ago na sya kinukuha ng ibang bansa..... kwarta na dapat yun....

at ito sa south korea ang daming kontra sa naturalization walang kasiguraduhan na papasa.... mas malaki pa daw offer ng taiwan... seryoso taiwan ngayon sa basketball.

Paano mo naman nalaman na mas malaki bayad doon kesa ng korea? Press released lang niya yan.

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**mokong22** · January 27th, 2018 12:56 PM

Originally Posted by shadow

Paano mo naman nalaman na mas malaki bayad doon kesa ng korea? Press released lang niya yan.

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Ayaw daw ni ratliff mo mag laro na sa purefoods kasi lagi silang olats pag kalaban ginebra. Kaya nag pa naturalize korean na sya

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**kagalingan** · January 27th, 2018 07:01 PM

oh ito... hindi ko na makita yung isang article pero ewan ko na hindi pa kayo maniwala...

‘I want to be able to call Korea home’
Pro says it’s not about the money or sport, but love of the country
Jan 13,2017

Ricardo Ratliffe, center for the Seoul Samsung Thunders, expresses a desire for Korean naturalization. Ratliffe intends to retire after playing in South Korea, but wants to be of service to the South Korean national basketball team in the Asian Games and the Olympics. [KIM SANG-SEON]

“It’s not because of money that I want naturalization [to Korean citizenship],” said Ricardo Ratliffe, the 28-year-old American center for the Seoul Samsung Thunders who, at the start of the year following the end of an away game with Jeonju KCC Egis, remarked, “I want a Korean passport.”

Ratliffe hopes to one day emblazon the Korean flag on his jacket as a member of the Korean national basketball team, which should come as good news for the Korean Basketball League.

Graduating from the University of Missouri in 2011, Ratliffe came to Korea and played for five seasons. Starting from 2012, he was a boon to Ulsan Mobis Phoebus for three continuous seasons.

He brought a 94-90 victory in the game against the Seoul SK Knights on Tuesday, scoring 32 points and taking 16 rebounds. The Samsung Thunders have won 13 consecutive home games. In the current season, Ratliffe has scored 23 points on average, taken 12 rebounds per game and propelled the team to 1st place with 21 wins and 7 losses.

In an interview with Ratliffe at a gym in Yongin, Gyeonggi, Ratliffe was reserved, unlike many other foreign athletes who are often brimming with excitement.

“Having started my pro life in Korea, it’s my second home,” said Ratliffe. “In the last five years, I’ve only stayed two months in America every year.”

Part of the reason for his desire to become Korean is his daughter Rhea. “My daughter, who was born in Suwon in 2015, thinks of herself as a Korean,” said Ratliffe. “When she sees an American, she feels shy, but she embraces Koreans. Rhea attends a Korean kindergarten and learned Korean.”

While the interview with Ratliffe was conducted in English, he did say a few phrases in Korean: “My name is Ratliffe,” “hyungnim” (elder brother), “It’s okay” and “I’m hungry.”

One thing that cannot be ignored is Ratliffe’s experience in international tournaments. While playing for Mobis Phoebus in 2014, he led the team to victory at the International Federation of Basketball (FIBA) William Jones Cup in Taiwan.

Through Ratliffe’s efforts at that time, the team succeeded against the Japanese national team and Korean fans on social media left messages such as “Thanks for winning the Korea-Japan match.”

“At that time, I felt, ‘I guess I’m a Korean representative, huh, I want to play for Korea,’” he said.

Yoo Jae-hak, 54, coach of Mobis Phoebus, recollected, “At that time, even though there wasn’t a championship bonus, Ratliffe diligently played.”

According to KBL regulations, Ratliffe earns 273 million won ($231,800) in the 7-month season. If he naturalizes, he would receive 800 million to 1 billion won annually. But he says this is not the reason he wants to become Korean.

“If I wanted money, I could have accepted an offer of naturalization to Taiwan three years ago,” he said. “Even after that, though there were calls for naturalization from other countries, I declined them because I love Korea.”

Since the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympics, the Korean national basketball team has been unable to qualify for the Olympics. Last September, Korea was smashed by Iran in the FIBA Asia Challenge by over 30 points. The efforts of Kim Jong-kyu, 207 centimeters (6 foot 9 inches) and Lee Seung-hyun, 197 centimeters were in vain against Iran’s towering center, Hamed Haddadi, at 218 centimeters.

There is a trend for most Asian countries to buttress their team through naturalization. “Though Ratliffe (199 centimeters) isn’t especially tall, he’s proficient at fighting” said Lee Sang-min, coach of the Samsung Thunders. “He was a track-and-field athlete, so he’s fast. In the event of naturalization, he will be a big help for seven to eight years.”

Talented athletes have been able to acquire Korean citizenship through special naturalization since 2010. Special naturalization has to be approved by the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee and the Ministry of Justice, but of the seven requirements set by the Ministry of Justice, one only has to fulfill three.

Ratliffe fulfills the “achievement in his or her field,” “awards at home and abroad” and “annual salary higher than per capita income” requirements.

Still, some oppose Ratliffe’s naturalization.

“If Ratliffe naturalizes, his team will in truth have three foreign players,” said Kim ***-hwan, an MBC Sports+ analyst. “If that happens, the discrepancy between team strength will become wider. There is concern of a naturalization domino effect. I know Charles Rhodes [33, center and power forward for Ulsan Mobis Phoebus] and Aaron Haynes [36, small forward for Goyang Orion Orions] have thoughts of naturalizing, too.”

“I want to say, I’d like to thank Koreans who support my naturalization,” said Ratliffe. “Please convey to the Koreans who are against [my naturalization] that I’m not doing it because of money or to make a three-person foreign player super team. I just love Korea. It’s just that I want to contribute to Korea’s achievements in the Asian Games and the Olympics.”

South Korea looking to add Star's Ricardo Ratliffe as a naturalized player

By Paul Lintag on Jun 06, 2017 05:28 PM

South Korean and current Star import Ricardo Ratliffe go way back.

Familiarize yourself with Ricardo Ratliffe, we might be seeing more of him in the near future.

South Korea, the Philippines' longtime rival in international basketball, has the prolific Star import in mind as a possible naturalization candidate.

In fact, it looks like he's the only option for the Koreans who are ranked 30th in the world in fifth in Asia.

In a report by Fox Sports, Ratliffe confirmed the development although nothing is set in stone yet.

"I'm the only candidate," he said per Jason Mercene of Fox Sports.

"I don't really know. We are still trying to negotiate. I'm not really sure if it's gonna work out or not but they wanted me to at least try," he added.

In a separate report by Korea Joongang Daily earlier this year, it appears that Ratliffe, who is in his second stint with Star in the PBA, is more than willing to join the Korean national team as a naturalized citizen.

It also looks like Korea is his only option if he decides to go through the process of naturalization.

"Having started my pro life in Korea, it's my second home," Ratlifee said per Park Rin of Korea Joongang Daily.

"If I wanted money, I could have accepted an offer of naturalization to Taiwan three years ago," he added. "Even after that though, there were calls for naturalization from other countries. I declined them because I love Korea."

After going undrafted in the 2012 NBA Draft, Ratliffe went straight to Korea, playing for Ulsan Mobis Phoebus in the Korean Basketball League after the team picked him sixth overall, making him the first American college player to get drafted in the KBL.

He spent three seasons with Mobis Phoebus and even led the squad to the 2014 William Jones Cup championship.

In his current stint for the Hotshots, a team that is one win away from the semifinals, Ratliffe is averaging 32.6 points and 21 rebounds per game.

The basketball rivalry between the Philippines and South Korea has been one of the fiercest in the Asian scene.

The last time both countries met was in the semifinals of the 2013 FIBA Asia Championships in Manila in a game won by the Filipinos, 86-79, to advance to the 2014 FIBA World Cup.

Both countries didn't have the chance to play each other in the 2015 edition of FIBA Asia after Korea lost in the quarterfinals. The Philippines ended up finishing second anew behind China while the South Koreans dropped from third to sixth.

**kagalingan** · January 27th, 2018 07:08 PM

Originally Posted by mokong22

Ayaw daw ni ratliff mo mag laro na sa purefoods kasi lagi silang olats pag kalaban ginebra. Kaya nag pa naturalize korean na sya

mokingkong...... hndi pa nakakalaban ni ratliffe ang barangay kadamay mo..... kung si junemar at rhodes hirap na hirap kay ratliffe..... eh wag ka na umasa kay greg slowmo at fabcon aguilar..... hahahahahh

oh ano nangyari ngayon sa team mo..... naging physical lang tawagan referee wala na binatbat..... nubanamanyan.....

Wala na si chito narvasa na bestfriend ni alfrancis...... besbestfriendnin ba nya si willie marcial....

**mokong22** · January 27th, 2018 07:43 PM

Ok lang yan kagalingan. Kahit talo basta panalo barangay ginebra kalaban hotdogs mo hehe

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**kagalingan** · January 29th, 2018 12:37 AM

grabe usap-usapan ngayon sa social media..... 3game losing streak barangay kadamay so kailangan manalo.... ayun umandar ang alfranics luto.... the chaleco man.....

PBA-Memes
2 hrs ·

si chua nung close up..binoboooooo..hahaha

--pokeman-

**Ry_Tower** · January 29th, 2018 10:28 AM

Oo nga, marami nag-boo kay Chua nung pinakita yung close-up. Alam na siguro kasi nila na niluluto niya laban ng SMB at Ginebra. tsk tsk

**baludoy** · January 29th, 2018 11:03 AM

^ ah na-boo pala si chualay kagabi? Hindi ko nakita hehe. Siguro naman ramdam na ng san miguel corp na aware ang mga tao sa underhanded techniques ginagawa nila

Personally ayoko na sana uminom ng san mig beer products kasi napupinta lang sa dlsu basketball team ang kita nila. Yan kantyaw ko sa classmate ko na tiga smc na kapwa ko tiga loyola heights 😂

when you look into the abyss, the abyss looks into you

**supadude** · January 29th, 2018 12:00 PM

game last night is well PLAYED... mejo napakagat pa yun mga fans sa final minutes of the game. But if you look at the stat sheets at alam mo pano maglaro SMB halatang halata.